Random BTS Oneshots
by kybeech
Summary: A series of random ship stories about BTS. They're all low key based off songs but I didn't really stick to them. Contains basically all the ships and a lot of fluff/some angst. Includes Taekook/Vkook, Taemin/Vmin, Taejin/Vjin, Yoonkook, Minjoon, Jihope, Yoonmin, 2Seok/Jinhope, Namgi/Yoonjoon, Sope, Jinkook, Namseok, Jinmin, Hopekook, Taegi, Jikook, Yoonjin, Namkook
1. Chapter 1 - Taejin

**A/N: Life has been a lot bc of the comeback and bc other stuff so these have been really relaxing to just write. I literally randomised the ships and songs so I'd have something to work with. Some of these are better than others and the randomising thing isn't perfect so ships get repeated sometimes. Oh well. Anyway, enjoy!**

**I was really emotional when I wrote this so it's kinda sad whoops.**

(Love Is Not Over)

All seven of them were crying. It was hard. They had been friends for over six years now, best friends. And now one of them was leaving for a whole year. Seokjin's military conscription letter came through the post a few weeks before, confirming their sadness. No-one wanted him to go, but it was too late now. He was leaving and that was that. They would all have to go at some point.

Stupidly, they had all decided to 'say a few words' over dinner which had sufficiently broken all of them and Taehyung hadn't even spoken yet. No-one expected him to; he was crying worse than the rest of them. And only he and Seokjin knew why. Seokjin was leaving the next day. In the morning. And then they wouldn't be able to see him for a year and that was harder on them than a whole lot of shit they had been through in the last six years. And they had been through a whole lot.

Taehyung was blinded by loss and Seokjin hadn't even left yet. Idols had died in the military and Taehyung didn't want to think about if that happened again. So he stayed, sobbing and clinging to Seokjin's arm as if that would stop him from leaving. Taehyung loved him. More than the others could. Because Taehyung loved him as more than a friend, more than a brother. So much more.

They hadn't told anyone, not even their fellow members. They couldn't risk a relationship like this getting out and ruining not only them but the rest of Bangtan as well. It started with just a simple wink from across a table at a fan meet and then spiralled into something so much deeper. They had to meet in secret, away from their friends, away from their fans and it had very nearly killed them both. They got into fights, like all couples, but the added frustration of their secret made it so much worse.

That wasn't to say that Taehyung didn't worship the danger. It felt so daring to flirt in public, to be so close to Seokjin and knowing that if he pushed, he could expose them both. But they kept it secret. For three years. Too long, in Taehyung's opinion. It made the times they were together so much more special, so much more passionate. Seokjin was pure fire when he wanted to be and Taehyung loved it.

Except he wouldn't see him for a year. It had only been three, but Taehyung still couldn't imagine his birthday passing without Seokjin, Valentine's day without Seokjin, any day at all without Seokjin. He needed him. He didn't know how he was going to get through this year without him.

Somehow, they managed to pull themselves together enough to go into their separate rooms to go to sleep. Taehyung lay on his bed with his head buried in his pillow, wishing that tomorrow would never arrive. Until he heard the most incredible sound in the world. Faint taps sounded from the opposite wall. Morse code: 'I need u.' Quietly, Taehyung stood up and tip-toed silently to the room next door.

Seokjin was pacing but stopped as soon as he saw Taehyung. Then, he wrapped his hands around Taehyung's waist and kissed him passionately. They were both so reluctant to say goodbye. Taehyung buried his head into Seokjin's shoulder and sobbed into his t-shirt, staining it with grief. Seokjin took his hand and led him towards the single bed and they crawled under the covers together.

"I-I don't want you t-to go, hyung," Taehyung whispered. He watched as a tear escaped Seokjin's eye and fell to the pillow. Their hands were still tightly entwined and a hurricane wouldn't pull them apart.

"I don't want to leave you, Tae." He could sense Taehyung about to object. "But I have to. I love you so much, I don't even know if I can do this. It's going to be so hard, but you have to stay strong for me, okay?" Taehyung nodded, not trusting himself to speak at all without choking up. They lay in silence, just enjoying the final hours they had together, and at some point fell asleep.

The six of them were standing in a line, facing Seokjin who was standing by the door, dressed and packed and ready to leave. It was clear that every one of them had cried themselves to sleep last night. Taehyung had been awoken by Seokjin early in the morning to sneak back into his own room and it had taken a lot to be alone again, even if it was just for an hour. He didn't know how he was going to face 8760 more. Seokjin took a deep breath.

"So, this is it, I guess. I'll see you in six months when we get a vacation if war hasn't broken out or anything. I'm gonna miss you guys so much; you're my family, you know that." The other six were now struggling to keep it together, especially Taehyung. "I got you all gifts, by the way. Just some little parting presents to remind you that I love you. But you have to promise me not to open them until after I'm gone, okay?" Everyone nodded vigorously and Seokjin reached into one of his bags. He handed everyone a parcel each and gave each of them a hug before looking at them one more time and shutting the door behind him.

Immediately, everyone tore at the wrapping paper in turn, anxious to see the gifts Jin had given them. Yoongi opened a box to find Jin's actual Rolex. Cypher Part 4 would never be the same and everyone knew it. Jimin unwrapped a beautiful glass bottle that he told everyone was identical to the one he had drunk out of on the night of their debut. Namjoon's was a framed piece of paper which Yoongi recognised as the original draft for 'No More Dream.' Hoseok gently opened a small, beautiful statuette of a butterfly with a message engraved on the wings that he refused to read out. Jungkook's gift was a soft toy that he immediately embraced and told everyone it was just like the one he had as a child and didn't give up until he was 16.

Then it was Taehyung. He had everyone's attention and unwrapped the paper slowly. It was a small, purple velvet box and Taehyung could feel the mental pressure from everyone to open it. And he did. A stunning diamond ring lay on a white satin cushion. In the lid of the box were the words: 'I don't care what they think. You're mine.'

Taehyung's breath faltered and his legs gave up. He fell to the couch behind him and sat staring at the proposal. He brought his knees slowly up to his chest and started to cry. Seokjin wouldn't hear his answer for six months. He had left his phone behind on purpose to keep it safe. And Taehyung would keep it safe. Taehyung was only just aware of the other five staring at him in stunned silence. Jimin swallowed.

"Taehyung, did he…?" Taehyung nodded. Namjoon exhaled.

"Wait, were you and Seokjin…?" Taehyung nodded again. Seokjin had told him that he didn't care and Taehyung had to accept that word as truth. Yoongi moved forwards and slid next to him, hugging him tightly around his shoulders. Taehyung let him.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Taehyung tried to speak but found he couldn't. "It's okay." Yoongi gestured to the others who sat on the surrounding chairs or armrests or on the floor to form a circle. And six members of Bangtan Sonyeondan cried at the departure of the seventh.


	2. Chapter 2 - Minjoon

(Not Today)

Namjoon collapsed on the floor, vision blurred and head hurting. Aside from the others, of course. He couldn't let them see him like this. He felt on the verge of a blackout and not for the first time that week. He used to be stronger than this, he was sure. Stuff like this didn't use to leave him dizzy and sick.

He felt tears slide down his cheeks as he sat with his back to the cool wall of the bathroom. Pain flared behind his eyes and the room lurched again. Namjoon very nearly screamed aloud but bit his lip hard to stop the sound escaping. He was so out of breath and everything hurt. He didn't want to show that anything was wrong so he settled for just hiding in the bathroom until his body decided to stop hating him. It was taking longer than usual this time and he knew someone would come looking for him soon.

So he tried to stand up. Mistake. The world was spinning and his legs didn't have the strength to support him. But he had to stand up and go back to practice. Everyone else seemed to be dealing with this perfectly fine and Namjoon tried hard to convince himself that he was, too. He leaned back on the wall, trying to stay upright, but his body refused. He couldn't help but fall to the floor as his breathing became shallow and his arms hit the ground in an attempt to stop him from breaking his ribs. Mistake. His hands landed on the floor hard and were too weak to do anything to protect him.

Namjoon just curled up on the floor and tried to stop the blackness overwhelming his vision. Harder than it sounded. He had to fight for his consciousness, scolding himself for his weakness. His heartbeat thudded in his ears, worsening his headache. He felt so sick and dizzy and he didn't want to fight anymore. Namjoon gave up on trying to control himself. His tears fell freely and his body started to shake. But he stayed awake. Why? He wanted to slip away, just for a minute. Or a year. He didn't really care. He just wanted to escape the pain.

"Hey, get your own breakdown place, this one's taken." Light returned to the world and Namjoon's head cleared, if only slightly. He managed to angle his head so he could see who had spoken. He saw Jimin kneeling beside him, holding a bottle of water that looked _so_ tempting. Namjoon's headache subsided slightly but still, no words could form. He lifted a hand to try and take the water but Jimin moved it out of the way. "Sit up for me, then you can have some, okay?"

One of Jimin's hands slipped around his shoulders and helped him sit vaguely upright. Namjoon forced his muscles to work and, surprisingly, they complied. He sat against the wall again, still just as fatigued, and saw Jimin smile faintly. A little bit of his strength returned. Jimin moved closer and held the bottle to Namjoon's lips. He drank gratefully, letting the cool water soothe his boiling blood and calm his rebellious stomach. A bolt of pain shot through his head and Namjoon groaned aloud

"Whoa, Namjoon can you talk? Speak to me," Jimin implored, concern etched into his face and words. Namjoon blinked a fresh wave of tears out of his eyes and barely whispered,

"Jimin… I-I… i-it hurts, please, I can't do this." He prayed that Jimin understood since that took the utmost of his effort. Jimin looked at him sadly and rubbed his arm slowly.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Jimin asked quietly. He sounded hurt; not quite betrayed, but disappointed. Namjoon instantly felt guilty.

"D-didn't think it was that b-bad…" Jimin blinked at him.

"Namjoon, you've been gone nearly an hour. We called off the rest of the practice. Before I found you, you were almost on the verge of a complete breakdown." Namjoon shook his head in protest. He hadn't been gone for an hour, had he? "Let me guess, feeling like you wanted to pass out; like the world was spinning and moving way too much; like you couldn't move or speak; like you just couldn't stop crying or shaking; distorted sense of time and reality so you can't tell if you're dreaming. How close did I get?"

Namjoon froze because Jimin had been 100% correct. Every detail. Maybe he was right. Namjoon didn't know what to do if he was weak because he was always the strength giver to the others. He kept quiet because he didn't want the others to have to worry about him. Because he didn't want to worry about himself. Mistake. He was a time bomb waiting to see when everything would finally become too much. And now it was and he couldn't deal. He didn't ever want to go back. He wanted to stay with Jimin taking care of him forever.

"You need to trust us with this. We are always here to help you, just like you were for us. So what changed? Why now? What happened to make your entire body want to just give up?" Namjoon didn't particularly want to tell Jimin, but his voice was like a siren song and drew the words out anyway.

"I-I can't do this…it's t-too hard and I can't…" Tears involuntarily continued to fall but Jimin wiped them away carefully.

"When was that ever a reason to give up? Life is always going to push us to the point where it's too hard because it can. Life hates us. But all we can do is fight back. The least we can do is prove it wrong and say 'fuck you, I'm gonna keep going.' It would be so much easier to give up and let life win, I know. But we keep fighting. One day at a time. Some people are pushed too far and don't… don't make it. But not you. You have to keep going. For us. For you. You have to stay strong. Maybe in the future, you might get pushed too far but today, you are going to keep fighting. Because you are Kim fucking Namjoon. And I'll be damned if you give in now."

Namjoon heard Jimin's voice crack and silently begged him not to cry for him. Something shifted inside Namjoon and he found the strength that he didn't know he had before. He felt less dizzy and more like he could stand up. He didn't feel as sick or as tired and he wondered if Jimin was magic. Jimin smiled a slightly impish grin and added,

"I never thought I'd get to say that to you. But you know it now. Give up and I give up with you." Namjoon didn't quite believe that he had a friend as amazing as Jimin. He was so perfectly impossible. Slowly, he leaned closer to Jimin and whispered in his ear,

"I'll stay strong for you." He could swear he felt Jimin shiver. A hand clasped his and he heard Jimin whisper back,

"You'd better."

Jimin helped him stand up and they walked slowly back to their dorm. Jimin did not stop asking Namjoon if he was okay. It was nice. No one really asked him if he was okay anymore. A lot of people asked him if Taehyung was okay because let's face it, the kid's a fucking lunatic. But no one really checked up on him all that often. Except for Jimin. It felt nice to be cared for. It felt nice to feel loved.

After that, any time Namjoon looked exhausted or upset or annoyed, Jimin would be the one to comfort him and be by his side. The others were there as well but Jimin always got there first. He seemed so genuinely concerned for his wellbeing and it sometimes made him want to cry.

About a week later, Namjoon had had a tough day. The maknae line were running around everywhere, which obviously sparked Sope to join in because it was just one of those days. Seokjin was somewhere else, so Namjoon had to look after everyone. Which would have been fine had they not been in public.

So Namjoon was tired. He lay down on his bed, migraine resurfacing, and praying that they wouldn't play any more games. He heard the door open quietly and groaned, waiting to be jumped on by one of his dongsaengs. But instead, Jimin asked,

"Sorry, hyung. Are you okay? We'll be quieter if you want to sleep." Namjoon rolled over and smiled at him, letting him sit on the bed. "Wow, your bed is so much comfier than mine!"

"I rarely jump on mine," chuckled Namjoon. Jimin lay down next to him, testing the mattress.

"I don't want to get up now." Namjoon wrapped an arm around Jimin's waist, just wanting to sleep after the long day behind him.

"Then don't." Jimin shrugged and snuggled up close to Namjoon. The next day, they would be confronted by mugshots from the others and wild ship theories from their fans. But for now, they were warm and comfortable and safe together. Namjoon had never fallen asleep quicker.


	3. Chapter 3 - Taekook

(Bulletproof)

Jungkook walked down the street dressed entirely in black with his cap pulled low over his head. Somehow, that hadn't been enough to stop him from getting recognised by at least three groups of people, even late at night. He just wanted to get home and have some food with his members. He had been sent out by Seokjin to retrieve ingredients, which was probably a mistake. Jungkook was the shyest of the seven and by far the least able to deal with fame and being recognised.

In a way, it was so cool to know that it was the highlight of some people's days to just see him walking down the street. On the other hand, it was weird and incredibly embarrassing to be recognised by strangers. It had been happening since he was fifteen and he was still not used to it. At all. And now he was tired and embarrassed and hungry and barely halfway back.

Unless he took the shortcut. It was dark and the shortcut would be even darker but at least Jungkook would get home fast. He took a right turn into a narrow alleyway and tried to pretend to himself that he wasn't afraid of the dark. A few more turns and he'd be nearly back to the dorms. A figure stepped out from somewhere and it made Jungkook jump more than he would care to admit to anyone. He was just going to ignore them but-

"Jeon Jungkook?" the voice was low and raspy and Jungkook sighed.

"No, it's a common mistake but he's way more talented than I am," Jungkook felt weird lying but tried to keep walking as quickly as possible.

"Nice try." He heard something click. "Hands up." He turned to face the figure, who was now holding something that Jungkook was afraid to recognise as a gun. He was being held at gunpoint. He dropped the bags he was carrying and shakily raised his hands. He liked to think he was cool under pressure, but he had honestly never been under this much pressure before. He had never before had to fear for his life.

"What do you want?" Jungkook hoped his voice came out less high-pitched than it had sounded to him. He was praying for a simple answer like an autograph or a selca, something easy.

"Cash, jewels, watches, rings, phones – everything you've got." Jungkook didn't want to give any of that stuff away. He had bought his rings with hard-earned money; his watch had been a birthday present from Jimin; he liked his phone.

"Can we come to an agreement? I know neither of us wants to get in trouble." Jungkook felt like a child but it was all he could think of. His arms were starting to get tired.

"Oh yeah?" the attacker stepped closer, "How about I take your pretty little face instead? Your fans would hate that, seeing their precious angel all scratched up." Okay, this guy definitely had something against Jungkook. "I'm gonna have a lot of fun making you bleed." To say Jungkook was scared was an understatement. He was petrified. He couldn't move or speak. He could only stare at the cocked gun and the shadowy figure who was his only company in the darkness of the alleyway. A voice rang out in the far distance.

"It is really hard to make Jungkook bleed!" The attacker and the attacked looked at each other in a similar state of confusion. The attacker looked around but there was no one there. "He's got kinda bad circulation so it's probably more difficult than you'd think!" It came from a different direction this time. Jungkook knew that information was true but he had no idea who the speaker was. The attacker looked bewildered and angry.

"What the hell? Do you have a backup or something?" Jungkook shook his head.

"I genuinely have no idea who that is." He didn't know why he was telling the truth since it would be so much easier to scare him away with the idea of backup.

"Okay, Jungkook, that's just rude." The voice was a lot closer now and it sounded a little bit like it was being filtered through something. If anything, this was scaring Jungkook more – not only did he have a gun in his face but there was also an extremely casual ghost somewhere with all of Jungkook's medical records. The attacker shouted,

"Who the hell are you?"

"A better question is who are _you_?" The voice spoke from directly behind Jungkook and he would have jumped out of his skin if he hadn't been completely frozen. The owner of the voice walked past Jungkook towards the attacker, stopping right in front of the outstretched gun. Although the figure was dressed in an oversized black coat with the hood pulled over the face, Jungkook knew instantly who it was. And he wanted nothing more than to get him out. "You know, I don't think you have a legal gun licence." Jungkook wondered at his ability to stay so calm. The attacker repositioned his grip on the weapon.

"Step back, put your hands up and shut the fuck up unless you want me to blow your brains out," Jungkook's head was screaming at the figure to leave but in reality, he could only watch on as the figure picked his nails casually and drawled,

"Okay, first of all, that's not a nice thing to say to someone you've just met. Second, I walked all the way over here and you're telling me to go back? Again, rude." The attacker looked disbelievingly at him and laughed,

"Move back, now!" The figure shook his head childishly. "Are you fucking suicidal or something?" The figure laughed and Jungkook felt a strange urge to laugh with him; it was that kind of infectious laughter. He lowered his arms slightly.

"No, not suicidal, no," the figure replied.

"Oh yeah? Then what are you?" The attacker sneered, not lowering his gun for a second. The figure let out a high-pitched giggle and turned back to face Jungkook for a second.

"Does he not listen to our music at all?" He turned around to face the attacker and pulled a gun out of his coat pocket. "We are bulletproof." The attacker looked surprised and terrified. The figure stood with such power and control that the attacker dropped his gun and bolted. Taehyung flung his hood back, threw the gun to the ground and ran back to Jungkook, removing the microphone from his face. "I'm so sorry, Kookie, are you okay? Did he hurt you?" As soon as Jungkook shook his head, Taehyung pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank God."

Jungkook was shaken and confused and found that coherent thoughts were eluding him. He sank into Taehyung's arms gladly for what was probably a while. After he had recovered slightly, he mumbled, "Taehyung, I'm fine, let go or I'll suffocate." Taehyung did let go but didn't stand too far away from Jungkook. "Taehyung, what the hell were you thinking? That guy could have killed you! And what the hell were you doing with a gun?" Taehyung raised his hands in defence.

"How am I the one that needs to be worried about?" Jungkook folded his arms. "He wouldn't have shot me anyway. Very few people are willing to actually kill someone when it comes to it." He moved to collect the bags of food that Jungkook had dropped and added, "Oh, you can hang up now if you want." Jungkook was confused and reached into his pocket to get his phone, which had indeed been calling Taehyung for the last ten minutes.

"That's how you knew I was in trouble?" Taehyung held both of the bags in one hand and went to pick up his gun, which Jungkook now realised was a well-made prop. He put the gun in his pocket and started to walk out of the alley. Jungkook followed him gratefully.

"We found an old box of stuff full of music video props, like this gun and this really cool voice-altering mic, so I called you to say hurry up, but I think you answered by accident. I heard you lie and say that you weren't you which is only an excuse you use when you're panicked, so I ran out and tried to find you. Then I heard you drop the bags and I could just about hear him threaten you but I still couldn't find you. That's when I realised you were in the shortcut _which Seokjin told you not to take_." He flicked Jungkook's head, making him flinch, but then ruffled his hair comfortingly.

"So I'd basically been running around for like five minutes, which wasn't bad because it gave me more time to think of an out-line. Did you like it, by the way?" Jungkook thought back to Taehyung's "We are bulletproof" and chuckled.

"Yeah, it was good. How did you know he was going to give you the set-up?" Taehyung rolled his eyes.

"I was going to be so annoyed if he didn't." Jungkook laughed and looked over at Taehyung, his beautiful saviour glowing in the moonlight. "I'm just so happy you're safe, Jungkook," he said quieter. Jungkook entwined his hand with the other's and they walked in relaxed silence for the rest of the way.

Jungkook opened the door to the apartment to see everyone sitting on the floor playing with various props: a selection of hats, a plastic cake, a remote control car, a fake lighter and other random objects. They turned around and cheered when they saw Jungkook, knowing he promised food. Jungkook was happy to see them all. Their attentions were drawn to something besides Jungkook, who remembered that it was Taehyung. Everyone was staring at their interlocked hands and Jungkook realised that it was probably weird. He also realised that Taehyung hadn't told anyone where he was going.

"Oh wait, did he tell you then?" asked Yoongi. Jungkook was confused. He looked up at Taehyung, who was currently shooting daggers at Yoongi.

"Tell me what?" he asked and he could feel everyone shift uncomfortably. Jungkook was very confused. He repeated, "Tell me what?" Hoseok rolled his eyes.

"That he likes you, genius," he said, probably louder than he meant to. Everyone looked between everyone else, seemingly waiting for something. Jungkook felt his pulse thud.

"W-wait, what?" Everyone was now staring at him, looking more puzzled than Jungkook felt. Seokjin put down the fedora he was holding and held up a hand to silence the silence.

"Hold on, wait a sec. Jungkook, did you not know that?" _Everyone else did? _Jungkook shook his head in astonishment and looked at Taehyung, who had blushed a deep red. While everyone else tried to suppress laughter, he said quietly,

"Maybe we should go somewhere else," he let go of Jungkook's hand and walked to the kitchen to put the bags on the counter. Jungkook swallowed,

"Agreed." He walked into Taehyung's room and Taehyung followed. He shut the door and they were alone.

"Jungkook, I-" Taehyung started, but Jungkook interrupted him with a laugh. Because this was just too good. "What? Jungkook, please listen, I'm-"

"Tae, you're such an idiot!" Jungkook managed in between giggles. Taehyung looked so confused and Jungkook smiled before walking up to him calmly and kissing him gently. He pulled away and looked at Taehyung's shocked expression.

"I really don't think I'm the idiot here," Taehyung whispered and kissed him back. Jungkook bit his lip lightly before pulling back again.

"I think we're both pretty stupid." Taehyung grinned in agreement and connected their lips again, letting Jungkook push as far as he had always wanted to.


	4. Chapter 4 - 2Seok

(Singularity)

Jung Dawon opened the door and Hoseok screamed. It had been months since he had seen his big sister so on some level, this was justified; on the other hand, it was deafening and the other members flinched. They had all met Dawon and she was a really nice girl. She was like her brother. He got so protective over her and it was really funny to see at times, but she truly loved him and it was just so adorable.

Dawon jumped and hugged her little brother and the others stood politely. It wasn't usual for anyone to stay over at the dorms, but it was a relative and it was only one night, so no-one really minded. She turned her attention to the other members and they smiled their greetings and bowed respectfully.

"Aw, you've all grown so much since I last saw you!" she clapped and Hoseok could not stop smiling.

"So have you! Guys, don't you think she's pretty?" he looked around and the others shuffled anxiously. She was gorgeous, no denying that, but that wasn't what they were worried about.

"Hyung, is this a trick?" Jimin asked sheepishly. Hoseok frowned.

"Why would it be a trick?" It was like he didn't remember. Taehyung laughed and Yoongi said,

"Dawon, the last time Jungkook said you were pretty, your brother fully attacked him and told him to stay away from you. I mean it was funny but uncalled for." Hoseok blushed but glared at Jungkook in spite. Dawon folded her arms, set her case down and then strode over to Jungkook and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Jungkook buried his head in Namjoon's shoulder and Dawon said,

"Thank you, Jungkook, you're very sweet. Hoseok, I can do what I like." The other six tried to hold back laughter as she flicked Hoseok on the forehead before hugging him around his shoulders. "Besides, I do have a boyfriend." All seven of them suddenly turned into teenage girls as they oohed in high-pitched voices. Hoseok gestured to the couch and they sat down.

"Oh, of course! How is he?" They went into a detailed conversation about people and places the others had no idea about and they scattered off to do assorted things in their rooms, outside or in the kitchen. Various attempts were made to check if Jungkook was okay since he hadn't quite returned to a normal colour yet. Seokjin just laughed at him and started on dinner, a treat on his behalf.

Eight of them sat down to eat for the first time in a while and Dawon proved to be a very chatty and grateful guest. She complimented the food and the chef in turn and kept the conversation moving naturally and smoothly with the help of Hoseok. It wasn't often that they met each other's siblings. None of them had met Yoongi's brother or either of Taehyung's siblings and the others had only been met in passing. A shame, since they seemed like lovely people.

After dinner, Hoseok set up Dawon's bed on the couch and Yoongi turned in for the night. As the evening went on, more of them disappeared until it was just Hoseok hugging Dawon goodnight. It hadn't been a particularly difficult day but Seokjin was still tired and had a lot of sleep to catch up on.

Except he couldn't sleep. His insomnia hit him occasionally and it was the most annoying thing in the world. He tried going on his phone, hoping the blue light would sufficiently destroy his eyes but that didn't work. He tried exercising, staring out of the window, listening to music, but all of his usual methods were failing him. He decided to get a glass of water. He opened his door quietly so as not to wake Dawon and crept out of his room.

He was surprised when he saw Dawon sitting up on the couch, staring at her phone. He was even more surprised when she sniffled and Seokjin realised that she was crying. This, however, did not faze him or make him freeze; he dealt with crying people all the time and he was good at it (unless it happened to be himself, in which case, he was hopeless). He tip-toed closer to the couch and whispered,

"Noona, are you okay?" She nodded her head furiously without looking up and Seokjin tilted his head. She looked at him with large, shining eyes and shook her head. Seokjin slid next to her on the couch and slipped an arm around her back. She put her head in his shoulder and sobbed for a minute into his shirt. Seokjin waited patiently, holding her close. The worst thing to do right now would be to rush her or, God forbid, make a move. Dawon needed comfort and he would provide it.

After a while, she sat up and dried her eyes. He brushed the hair out of her face and smiled gently. She laughed slightly.

"I-I'm sorry, you're very kind. It's just…my boyfriend broke up with me, like, four minutes ago." She held up her phone and Seokjin stared at it.

"Over text?" he asked and she nodded. "Stupid guy. Does he realise how inconsiderate that is? Never _ever _break up over text, that's rule one." She laughed.

"He was so nice, as well. He treated me like I was an actual, normal person." Seokjin tilted her chin up so she was looking at him and asked,

"Why did you ever go out with someone who insisted on treating you like a normal person? My darling, you are a queen." Dawon smiled and wiped away the tears that were beginning to fall again. She looked at the chat that was still open on her phone and Seokjin took it off her. "You don't deserve him. You don't deserve heartbreak. You deserve happiness. You deserve love. You deserve…a real bed, actually. Go sleep in my room, I'll take the couch." She was about to protest but Seokjin helped her to her feet and pressed her phone into her hands before kissing her on the top of her head. "Go." Dawon hugged him around his waist before skipping into Seokjin's room and whispering a thank you and closing the door.

Seokjin smiled. He liked helping people and he had truly meant every word of that. He lay back on the couch and closed his eyes. It was far less comfortable than his bed, but that was rather the point. Despite this, he found himself able to sleep again and slipped quickly into unconsciousness.

He woke up earlier than the others, as usual, and stepped into the kitchen to make breakfast. The smell of food summoned a very sleepy looking Hoseok from his room and they chatted as Hoseok skimmed through the various selcas he had taken with his sister the day before. As he did so, Dawon emerged from Seokjin's room, yawning. Seokjin looked around and smiled brightly at her. She returned the smile and then hugged Hoseok, muttering details about her breakup.

Seokjin watched Hoseok look concerned and sympathetic as he hugged his sister tightly. He then shot a death glare at Seokjin who turned around quickly, afraid. An alarm went off on someone's phone and Seokjin heard Dawon say,

"Oh, that's my 'get ready' call. I was hoping I could say goodbye to everyone before leaving but I really do need to go as soon as I can. I'll go and get changed." He heard her get up and focused entirely on the food instead of the eyes he could feel burning through the back of his head. He didn't know what he had done to annoy Hoseok but he was scary when he wanted to be. Jimin and Namjoon emerged from their rooms and sensed the tension, trying very hard to put it at ease. They just talked normally and Seokjin silently thanked them for it.

Eventually, Dawon entered the main room again, fully dressed, and packed her things away into her bags. When Seokjin turned around, Hoseok was no longer glaring at him; he was carefully watching Jimin hug Dawon goodbye. She said her farewells and nodded at Seokjin.

"Thanks for last night, Seokjin. Anyway, goodbye, everyone! I'll see you soon, Hobi, okay?" She hugged him again and waved goodbye before shutting the door behind her. Seokjin set the plates on the kitchen counter and Jimin and Namjoon (and Jungkook, who had appeared) fetched their food and headed straight for their respective rooms, leaving Hoseok and Seokjin alone again. Hoseok's death stare returned and Seokjin felt his insides freeze.

"Would you care to explain, Seokjin?" Hoseok said calmly, freaking Seokjin out a little bit more.

"Hoseok, I really don't know what I did. I have no idea what you're talking about." Hoseok sighed and stood up.

"I'm talking about why my sister left _your_ room this morning. Why she said you 'helped her out' after she literally just broke up with her boyfriend. Why she thanked you for 'last night'. Why you can barely look at me right now. Start talking." Ah. This was a simple misunderstanding.

"Hoseok, I didn't do anything with your sister! I was getting a glass of water and she was crying so I literally helped her out. We just talked. I slept on the couch last night and she took my bed because it's more comfortable. I swear that's it!" Hoseok rolled his eyes.

"Sure." Seokjin didn't know what else he could do.

"What exactly could I say to make you believe me?" Hoseok moved closer and was almost yelling.

"The truth!" Okay. He was being stubborn. Seokjin hadn't wanted it to come out this way (no pun intended) but he seemingly had no choice.

"For fuck's sake, Hoseok, I'm gay!" And Hoseok froze. "I'm not crushing on your sister, okay? Neither is Jungkook or Jimin! Just let her do what she wants and let us live around her," Seokjin trembled. He hadn't meant to come out to anyone at all until it mattered. In all honesty, he hadn't been thinking properly. He just wanted Hoseok to stop being mad at him.

Hoseok looked confused like he was trying to decipher Seokjin's words.

"So…you really aren't crushing on my sister?" Seokjin laughed,

"No! Not _her_!" Hoseok relaxed and laughed slightly as well.

"Okay, well thank- wait, what?" Yay, more confusion. Seokjin searched through his words, trying to find what was puzzling him. He didn't have to. "What do you mean 'not _her_'? Who?" Shit.

"N-no one." Seokjin looked down and Hoseok chuckled.

"You're a terrible liar," he said, jumping closer to Seokjin in an attempt to be annoying. "Who is it?" He asked, almost in Seokjin's ear. He raised a hand to start playing with the elder's hair, but Seokjin grabbed him by the wrist.

"Stop." He looked at Hoseok with hard, serious eyes, a look he was not used to giving but he really wanted Hoseok to stop. _Liar_. Okay, he really did not want Hoseok to stop but he couldn't risk losing control around him. He had worked so hard for the last two years to not let this show and he was not losing this now. Hoseok stared deep into his eyes, searching for an answer to a question that he didn't dare to ask.

And Seokjin snapped. He was so close and there was no one else around. Hoseok already knew one of his biggest secrets, why shouldn't he know the other. He took a breath, dissolved in the concern of Hoseok's eyes.

"Look, just…stop, okay? Because I don't want to hold back when you're this close. I don't want to restrain myself anymore." He gripped Hoseok's wrist tighter and moved closer. Hoseok looked faintly afraid but he didn't step away.

"Hyung…" was all he said in reply. That was all it took to push Seokjin completely over the edge. In one movement, he whipped his hand to the back of Hoseok's neck and pressed their lips together. He didn't let go of Hoseok's wrist, not trusting him to stay. Seokjin felt a hand creep lightly over his hip and took that as an invitation to push further. And it tore down any of Seokjin's remaining restraints and doubts. He wanted Hoseok and he would fucking have him.

A door opened somewhere and they froze. They realised it was Yoongi's and that they had seconds before he would turn the corner and catch them both. Seokjin let go and pretended to be fixing Yoongi's food as the very sleepy man waddled around the corner and took his food gratefully from Seokjin before sitting on the couch facing away from them. They watched as he slipped air pods into his ears and started watching something on his phone while he ate.

Seokjin motioned for Hoseok to sneak back to his room. The younger blushed and nodded, flashing him a bright smile before walking quickly back to his room and shutting the door behind him. Seokjin looked at the closed door and smiled. As he was drying his hands, he heard Yoongi say,

"Tell you what, hyung, that's something else we have in common." Seokjin was confused. Yoongi wasn't looking up and probably hadn't since he sat down.

"Um…what?"

"We've both seduced a Jung in under three minutes." Now that was a sentence and a fucking half. Seokjin didn't have time to process all of it before he heard another voice. From Hoseok's room.

"Tell you what, _hyung_, the walls are thinner than you think they are." Yoongi just smiled. Okay, actually, what the fuck? There was a lot of sorting out to be done and Seokjin was about to attempt it before Hoseok emerged from his room with a literal baseball bat in his hands, his glare aimed directly at Yoongi, who seemed remarkably unbothered. Before the fight could break out, Seokjin ran towards Hoseok and took the weapon out of his hands.

"No, Hobi, no hitting. Okay?" he berated and Hoseok nodded, still clearly fuming. Yoongi stood up smugly and walked towards his room. As he passed Hoseok he whispered, loud enough for both of them to hear,

"Your sister calls me oppa, too." This time, Seokjin had to physically restrain Hoseok as Yoongi sprinted into his room. Hoseok muttered something about killing Yoongi and Seokjin spun him around and kissed him. That shut him up.


	5. Chapter 5 - Yoonmin

**I can totally see Jimin as a rapline fanboy. I mean I get that's Tae's thing but I feel like Jimin is secretly in love with the mixtapes. Sidenote, Grammarly tried to correct 'Agust' to 'August' 11 times and that is so infuriating :/**

(Ddaeng)

At 18 years old, Jimin was still the same fanboy he had always been inside. He played a cool game in front of his friends; he liked rap music, went to the gym, dressed stylishly without trying. In reality, Jimin hated the gym and followed so many fashion blogs, reading them instead of his textbooks because he liked them. And he didn't just like rap music. He was an Agust D his opinion, the best thing to be.

Jimin had loved Agust D since his debut three years ago. The rapper taught Jimin so much about life that Jimin couldn't imagine getting through high school otherwise. Without him, Jimin would be far less enthusiastic about dance, convinced that studying and listening to his parents was the only way to live, and certain that he was straight. However, Agust D changed that. Flipped it upside fucking down. Now, Jimin was a passionate dancer, bunked off school more often than his family would let him and was definitely crushing on Agust D.

And now he had front row tickets to his concert. When Jimin found this out, he had run around the back of his house to scream. Because these were front row tickets to one of the hottest, fastest rappers in Korea. His room was subtly decorated in merchandise and artwork that wouldn't be entirely obvious to people like his friends who didn't really know about Agust D. But Jimin was obsessive. He just didn't want people to know that.

The night before the concert, Jimin did not sleep. He did his make-up just enough to make himself look good, but not that you could tell he was wearing make-up. He didn't concentrate all through school and practically sprinted out of the gates at the sound of the bell. Rap music was blasting through his earphones for the whole train journey, earning him some annoyed looks from the other passengers. He didn't care; they needed education on what good music sounded like.

The venue was packed. Jimin showed his ticket and proudly strode to his seat. He couldn't quite believe that all of these people were fans of Agust D as well. Finally, he didn't have to hide his adoration for the god. He could scream openly. A heavy bass thrummed through the seats and a collective shout erupted from the crowd. Smoke flowed onto the stage and Agust D himself rose up from beneath the stage. Jimin was already crying and he nearly fainted.

As a performer, Agust D was incredibly mysterious. No one knew his real name or age and he always wore layers of clothes during his concerts as well as dark sunglasses and a cap. Not many people knew much about him other than what he talked about in his music since he didn't really do interviews. So sometimes, he felt quite distant to his fans. But now, less than a hundred metres away from Jimin, he had never felt more real.

He held out the mic to let the crowd shout the hook and Jimin yelled as loud as he could. He didn't hold back even though he knew the concert would be over three hours long. The first song ended and the cheers didn't die down. Somehow, over the noise, a voice was heard.

"Learn to rap, you fucker!" The noise dampened slightly as quite a few people heard. "You're a piece of shit!" This caught the attention of Agust D himself, who looked in the direction of the shout, some distance behind Jimin (fuming at this point because how dare they?). Agust D threw down his water and asked,

"Excuse me?" Some people laughed and some people, like Jimin, noticed that he said this in the Kyongsang satoori. No one knew where he came from, so it felt cool to have this clue. "Shout up, I can't hear you over the thousands of fans screaming for me." There was no answer and the crowd laughed and chanted his name, letting him take in the glory. Jimin wondered why the hell an Agust D anti would even come to the concert in the first place and then stay quiet when he was shut down. It was decidedly curious.

Around halfway through the concert, Jimin's voice began to crack. Just before the interval, Jimin's favourite part of his favourite song had him absolutely dying. A suspenseful, killer build up to the coolest beat drop in the history of music. At said beat drop, Agust D sprayed water over the front rows of the audience, soaking Jimin. He froze, blessed with the holy water, and screamed. Agust D turned around and left the stage, leaving his audience begging. Jimin looked at the girl beside him and she looked at him back. They didn't know each other, but they squealed and jumped up and down as if they were best friends. It was cool how they were united through this.

Jimin just about didn't faint for the rest of the concert. Agust D winked vaguely in his direction and made the whole section choke. He had so much power and the best thing was that he knew it. Jimin was hypnotised by his charisma and tried his hardest not to blink. He knew his voice was shot through and his heart was all over the place so he couldn't tell if it was beating at all. But he could die there and have no regrets.

Once outside the building, Jimin had to force himself to stop crying in public. The last few songs were really emotional and personal and Jimin completely lost it. He stayed for a while in the area, meeting new friends and bonding over their tears. What he noticed was that he was a rare species of fans in that he was a fanboy, as opposed to a fangirl. Jimin hadn't really realised that before but it didn't really bother him.

It was getting late so Jimin decided to take the shortcut to the station. He wasn't exactly afraid of the dark, but he was afraid of dodgy alleyways and being abducted. So when he bumped into someone by accident, he almost had a heart attack. Whoever he knocked into stumbled slightly and dropped a bunch of papers onto the floor, cursing under his breath. Although terrified, Jimin's good nature kicked in and he automatically apologised and helped pick up the papers.

He stood up to hand them back and stopped dead. The other was a blonde man wearing a black cap and a puffer jacket. His eyes were dark and captivating and staring straight into Jimin's soul. Jimin recognised everything about him, from his gait to his voice, to his posture. Except for his eyes. They were new. Because Agust D _always_ wore sunglasses. He took the papers calmly from Jimin, who was still standing frozen and smirked, sending Jimin's brain into overdrive.

"You know, I don't get many fanboys," was all he said. Jimin dropped to the ground as his knees gave in. He could not deal with this at all. He didn't know what to say or what to do. He was confronted with a god, a creator that his own mortal mind couldn't possibly hope to comprehend. All he could do was bow and cry. He felt hands wrap around his and looked up. Agust D was kneeling in front of him and holding his hands. "Don't cry for me. Your tears are worth more than this."

Goddamn, he was good. Jimin wiped his face and apologised, embarrassed. Agust D helped him stand up and Jimin laughed nervously. Agust D just smiled.

"What's your name?" he asked and Jimin wondered if his voice would work.

"P-Park Jimin. S-sorry, I don't have that much of a voice left." Agust D held out his hand.

"That's okay. I'm Min Yoongi." Jimin shook his hand, staring. Because Agust D told him his name. Told Jimin. His name. Jimin wondered if it was a mistake. "And yes, that is my real name. Nice to meet you, Jimin." Not wanting to fall again, Jimin breathed deeply and shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"You too." He literally could not think of anything to say. Well, he could. For example: _"Your music stopped me falling into depression," "You are literally the hottest guy on the planet," "I love you more than I love my parents,"_ that kind of thing. But he couldn't just randomly throw that out there. Before he could awkwardly stutter anything, Agust D – well, Yoongi – said,

"Sorry, I-I can't focus. You're really cute and it's, like, throwing me off. I don't usually get to speak to cute guys. How old are you?" Jimin couldn't decide whether he meant cute as in 'adorable' or cute as in 'damn'. Either way, he was internally screaming. His conflict was silenced by Yoongi's question and he answered,

"Uh, I-I'm turning nineteen this October. What about you?" Jimin hoped that it wasn't too personal since he had literally only just found out his name. But Yoongi tilted his head and smiled.

"I turned twenty this March. We're not too far away." Jimin's jaw dropped.

"You're twenty?!" Yoongi nodded. "You debuted when you were seventeen?!" Yoongi shrugged.

"Sixteen, actually; I debuted a week before my birthday." Jimin laughed in disbelief. Yoongi was twenty years old. If that wasn't incredible, he didn't know what was. Yoongi saw him smiling. "What?"

"As if you couldn't get any more impressive." Yoongi laughed. Jimin felt so honoured to be next to him. He was only a year and a half younger than Yoongi but hadn't lived half his life. Talking to him felt unreal.

"Hey, Jimin?" Jimin looked up. Yoongi tossed the papers carelessly onto the floor and, in one slick movement, grabbed Jimin by the waist and pulled him so close that Jimin could feel his breath. His throat went dry and Jimin was seriously wondering if he was dreaming. Except it felt so real. He was getting used to falling speechless around Yoongi and could only hold eye contact in reply. Yoongi smirked, "You're really fucking cute." He moved closer to Jimin and kissed him.

Jimin's entire body was such a mess that he couldn't focus on any particular emotion. He decided to just ignore his brain because it was too annoying and Yoongi felt so good. He wrapped his arms around Yoongi's neck and pushed deeper. His hands crept underneath Jimin's shirt and felt their way up his back and sides. Yoongi's hands were cold and Jimin shivered slightly at the contact. He just slipped his fingers into the hair he had been longing to touch for three years and tried to find some way to tell Yoongi he loved him. He settled for moaning into his mouth and pressing his body closer.

Retracting his hands from the back of Jimin's shirt, Yoongi raised his head to look at Jimin. His eyes were dark and beautiful, searching through Jimin's for permission to go further. Jimin responded by kissing him deeply again. He was pushed back until he hit the wall and Yoongi kissed him ferociously, with an intensity that Jimin hadn't thought was possible. Yoongi pulled back and smiled slyly.

"You're coming home with me."


	6. Chapter 6 - Taejoon

(Hold Me Tight)

Sometimes, being the leader was the best role in the world. Namjoon was responsible for six amazing humans who loved and cared for him back. His brothers were so beautiful and kind and Namjoon couldn't imagine life without them. He felt proud to be able to be with them and he felt as if their achievements were his, too. He loved them more than anyone else in the world and he never felt happier than when he was with them.

But sometimes, being the leader was shattering. When Taehyung and Seokjin fought, Namjoon felt like running and screaming at them to stop. But he couldn't; he always managed to make it right in the end and thanked God he could stay calm. When Jungkook or Jimin overworked themselves, it made Namjoon want to cry. Somehow, he thought it was his fault they stopped eating properly or collapsed on stage. When Hoseok or Yoongi went through dark times, Namjoon threw everything aside to help them. Because he couldn't stand to see them that way and nothing else was more important than making sure they were okay.

So that's why at almost one in the morning, Namjoon was fighting back the urge to cry. He had just gotten back from the studio to find the living room empty. He had assumed that everyone else was asleep and was about to go to bed himself when he froze outside his door. He could hear someone sobbing faintly inside his room. He had heard all of the others cry before and tried to deduce who it was without opening the door.

He knew that Jungkook cried silently and preferred not to draw attention to himself; Yoongi was the same and hated being seen in tears, usually choosing to compose himself first before seeking help; Jimin reverted almost back to a child with his quiet sobs and occasional sniffles; Seokjin got tremors, making his voice and body shake; Hoseok wasn't by any means loud, but he had a tendency to try and hold back until his dam broke and everything came flooding out at once.

But this didn't sound like any of those. The sobs were harsh and Namjoon immediately recognised the occasional abrasive cracks in his voice. It was Taehyung. Namjoon took a second to prepare himself and gently opened the door.

Taehyung was sitting with his back to the wall and crying his heart out. He looked up at the door opening and Namjoon's heart constricted at the sight. His pale blue hair was a chaotic mess and he had clearly been crying for a long while. His usually clear, sparkly brown eyes were now bloodshot and glassy and tears were still trickling down his cheeks. His hands were clutched in fists in his stained shirtsleeves, but he looked like he had given up on trying to wipe away his tears, letting them fall freely. Another sob ripped through him and Namjoon was immediately next to him.

Namjoon crouched beside him and brushed away some of his tears but they were quickly replaced with more. He lightly took Taehyung's hands, unclenching them, and helped him stand up. He kept Taehyung close and walked him to the bed, helping him under the covers. He looked so small and helpless and Namjoon's heart broke watching him. He joined Taehyung in the bed and lay facing him. He linked their fingers, holding Taehyung's hand tightly and really not wanting to let it go.

Taehyung buried his face in Namjoon's pillow as if he was ashamed to be seen crying. Namjoon shuffled closer and moved his free hand up to Taehyung's hair, stroking the soft locks gently to calm the boy down. It seemed to work if Taehyung's quiet sniffles were any indication. He looked at Namjoon with hurt, wet eyes and didn't speak, even though Namjoon could tell he wanted to.

"You don't have to tell me now. We can wait until morning if you think you'll feel better," whispered Namjoon. Rule one: don't force anything out of Taehyung; he won't respond well and will probably just close up more. Taehyung just shuffled closer to Namjoon and buried his face in the elder's shoulder.

"Hyung, I'm so glad you're safe," he mumbled. Namjoon just held him close and let him know he was safe as well, in Namjoon's arms.

"Of course I'm safe, Taehyung. Why are you so worried?" comforted Namjoon. Taehyung curled up next to him and looked up.

"J-Jungkook made the others pretend that you left for good. Th-they faked a note and everything. I was just st-stupid enough to believe them and I ran in here and I wouldn't open the d-door because I didn't believe it was a prank. They gave up after a w-while and went to bed." Namjoon was shocked. Jungkook and Taehyung liked to pull pranks on each other occasionally, but they were always small scale. The forfeit was never this strong.

"It's okay, Taehyung. I would never leave you. I'm going to have a word with Jungkook tomorrow, okay? He won't do anything like that again, I promise. You can stay with me tonight if you want." Taehyung responded by grasping Namjoon's hand tighter and whispering,

"Thank you."

The next morning, Namjoon was still holding Taehyung close to his chest. He was breathing steadier and his face was still a little bit puffy, but it would go down soon. Namjoon didn't want to move before Taehyung had woken up but he didn't mind. Taehyung was really warm and surprisingly comfortable to sleep with. As Namjoon was drifting in and out of dreams, Taehyung's eyes flitted open.

"Hyung…" he tried to speak but his voice cracked. Namjoon watched him remember why his voice was shot and why he had a headache. He looked up at Namjoon and smiled at him before sitting up. Namjoon ruffled his hair and got up, opening the door for Taehyung to walk back to his own room.

He followed Taehyung into the living room and saw Jungkook and Jimin sitting on the couch, talking. They fell silent when they saw Taehyung walk to the next room in his dishevelled state and avoided eye contact with Namjoon. Once he heard Taehyung's door close, Namjoon turned his attention to the boys on the couch and asked gently,

"Jimin, could you give us a minute?" Jimin nodded and went to his room. Jungkook sat properly on the couch and looked incredibly guilty. Namjoon didn't want to assign blame or be too harsh, but Jungkook had done something wrong and needed to fully understand that. "Jungkook, I understand you were the leader of the prank?" Jungkook nodded,

"Look, I'm really sorry, I- "

"I wasn't finished talking," Namjoon interrupted. He was trying not to be too much like an annoying teacher but that was surprisingly difficult. "I'm sure you noticed that Taehyung stayed in my room last night. He didn't want to be alone and he wanted to know that I wouldn't actually leave. Your prank really affected him and I understand those weren't your intentions. However, I have no idea what your actual intentions could have been. I appreciate you trying to fix the situation afterwards but I want you to explain yourself." Jungkook paused.

"I didn't mean it to hurt him that much. It was just supposed to be a sort of test for the rest of us, to see if we could act well. But it sort of…backfired. He got really upset and we obviously expected that but he got _really_ upset and wouldn't stop crying. He shut himself in your room and wouldn't let us in. He blocked the door and everything. We tried to tell him that we were joking but he didn't believe us and in the end we just thought that he'd find out when you got back. I get that it was a really bad thing to do because obviously it's not a joke if one of actually leaves and obviously since Tae…"

Jungkook cut himself off. Namjoon looked at him, willing him to keep going. But Jungkook stayed silent. Namjoon implored,

"Since Tae what?" Jungkook fidgeted and didn't answer. "Jungkook, tell me the truth." Jungkook ran his hand through his hair.

"I shouldn't have said anything. That was a mistake. Shit, Tae's gonna kill me."

"Language, Kookie." Jungkook apologised but still looked panicked. Namjoon was less annoyed with him now but was slightly irritated that he was still hiding things. "Tell me." Jungkook swallowed.

"Um, well, Taehyung sort of has a crush on you. He only told me and I've been trying to be supportive but also taking the piss because he wants to be normal about it. But I shouldn't have told him you were gone because I know how he feels about you and he is actually going to kill me now." Namjoon stayed still, processing this. After a minute, he called,

"Taehyung? Can you come out here, please?" Jungkook shot to his feet and Taehyung's door opened. Taehyung went to stand next to Jungkook, confused at why Jungkook looked so on edge. Jungkook rested his forehead on Taehyung's shoulder and mumbled,

"Tae, I'm really, really sorry. He wouldn't let it go, I had to tell him. I'm so, so, sorry. Please forgive me?" It slowly dawned on Taehyung what Jungkook meant and he pushed Jungkook away, disgusted.

"Jungkook, what the f- "

"Taehyung, calm down. Jungkook, you did the right thing. You can go to your room now." Jungkook tried to protest. "Jungkook! Go to your room!" Namjoon needed him out of the way. Taehyung was fuming and looked violent, so it wouldn't be smart to keep them together. Jungkook slunk back to his bedroom and shut the door. Taehyung turned away, pulling on his hair and looking like he wanted to scream.

"I am so going to kill him," he mumbled. Namjoon stepped closer.

"I know you're annoyed but he did the right thing. I know the whole story now so I get why you were so upset. And besides- "

"Look, can you skip to the 'I don't like you back so we can never be friends again' part. I really don't need all of this protective shit," Taehyung interrupted. Namjoon looked straight at him and felt something surge inside him. He grabbed Taehyung's hand just as he was about to walk away and kept him centimetres away. Taehyung stuttered and looked away, despite being less than two inches away from Namjoon. Namjoon lifted his head and kissed him gently.

"Let's go back to bed," he said when he pulled back. Taehyung just bit his lip and nodded, clearly flushed. Namjoon would talk to the others later. He had more important things to deal with now.


	7. Chapter 7 - Yoonkook

**This is probably my personal favourite so far bc Yoonkook is so cute but I can't write properly so oh well.**

(Crystal Snow)

The sky seemed black and endless. No stars shone through the thick layers of dark clouds that veiled the moon from view, leaving the streets to create their own light and gleam into the air. Jungkook stared out of the window of his bedroom, wistfully contemplating his life. Something caught his eye. A white speck drifting down from the sky and slowly landing on his windowsill. And another. And another. Almost at once, hundreds of snowflakes dotted the empty backdrop to the city and flurried down to the ground below.

Jungkook was still for a second, praying that the snow wouldn't cease, and his prayers were answered. If anything, the snowfall intensified. Jungkook beamed and ran out of his bedroom to tell the others. He had forgotten that it was past midnight. Instead of seeing most of the members huddled on the floor playing something as he had expected, only Yoongi sat on the couch, illuminated by the blue light from his phone. He looked up just as Jungkook was about to back away.

"Jungkook, are you okay?" Jungkook decided it was too late to just go back to his room, so he grinned and answered,

"It's snowing." Immediately, the light from Yoongi's phone shut off and Yoongi was following Jungkook to the door. They raced up the stairs to the roof and stopped. It was _so_ pretty. The lights from the roof made everything sparkle and, despite there only being a few millimetres on the ground, the snow looked like glitter. The chairs and tiles were coated in a thin layer of white – not the snowball-type snow; the soft, powdery stuff that barely feels like ice.

Jungkook and Yoongi exhaled heavily, their breath forming clouds of mist that diffused into the cold night air. They stepped forward to examine the view of the wintry skyline and the pristine crystals covering the floor. Despite the wonderful scenery all around him, Jungkook couldn't help but stare at Yoongi. He had a reputation for being distant and disinterested but Jungkook had never seen him so in awe. He looked like a child seeing snow for the first time, staring up into the sky. His black hair was spotted with white flecks that gradually melted and mussed his already messy locks.

The word was 'ethereal'. Heavenly, angelic, other-worldly stunning. Yoongi hypnotised Jungkook more than the swirling snow around them. Eventually, Yoongi noticed Jungkook, causing the younger to awkwardly look away, trying to focus on the wind blowing through the flakes instead of the rising blush in his cheeks. He heard Yoongi sigh,

"Jungkook, were you staring at me?" Jungkook tried not to pick up on the disappointed tone in Yoongi's voice and looked over nonchalantly.

"Hm? Wha- no!" Jungkook had never been the best liar, especially around Yoongi. "I was just…admiring the view." That wasn't a lie. Yoongi sighed again.

"We've been through this, remember? I'm cool with this as long as you try your best to get over it." Far, _far_ easier said than done. Jungkook had told Yoongi about his crush months ago and that hadn't stopped Jungkook's brain from completely disobeying him and continuing to obsess over the rapper. To say that this wasn't ideal was a hell of an understatement. None of the others knew about it since Yoongi agreed to keep it quiet but that just meant that he was quietly crushing on Yoongi instead.

Jungkook knew that Yoongi wouldn't like him back. Probably ever. To Yoongi, Jungkook was just his stupidly annoying, taller, younger brother and nothing more. But Yoongi meant the world to Jungkook. It wasn't even as if Yoongi didn't know it; he knew and denied Jungkook (very politely and carefully but it still hurt). And now Jungkook was in the presence of him looking more like a god than ever and he wasn't even allowed to stare. Fuck that. Jungkook could do whatever the hell he wanted.

"It's not my fault you're beautiful," Jungkook muttered, somehow hoping Yoongi wouldn't hear despite the crisp silence between them.

"It's not my fault, either," Yoongi replied. For some reason, whether pent up annoyance or frustration at life, this made Jungkook really angry. He walked, silently fuming, back to the door, planning to just punch his bedroom wall and get his irritation out like that. But the door wouldn't open. Jungkook tried again, wincing at the cold handle on his bare skin. It was to no avail. Either the lock had jammed or the door had frozen. Either way, they were stuck. Either way, Jungkook still tried.

He rattled the door handle, not caring about the freezing metal, but it didn't work. He slammed his fist against the door as hard as he could three times and yelled in aggravation. Strangely warm arms wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him back from the door. A soft, low voice whispered in his ear,

"Jungkook, punching a hole in the door is not going to help," Yoongi spoke into his neck and Jungkook shivered for the first time since they had left the comfort of the building. Yoongi spun Jungkook around by his shoulders to face him. "Hands, please." Jungkook held out his hands and allowed the older to examine them. Yoongi's hands were really warm, considering they had been tracing lines in the snow and freely waving in the brisk air for the past twenty minutes.

Not passing up an opportunity to be this close to Yoongi, Jungkook took in every detail and memorised them as best he could. Yoongi's eyes were carefully analysing the bruise forming on Jungkook's hand, his fingers skimming lightly over it so as not to hurt Jungkook. His cheeks were flushed from the cold and he was biting his lip slightly. He looked up at Jungkook, pretending not to see the infatuation hazing through the younger's eyes.

"You're lucky we're surrounded by ice. Come on; fire escape." Yoongi delicately gripped Jungkook's other hand and led him to the fire escape on the other side of the roof. He helped Jungkook down the ladder ahead of him. Jungkook didn't realise how hard he had hit his hand until he accidentally knocked it against the ladder. His hand missed whatever it was about to grip and he stumbled down the last few steps to the next floor.

Lying on the metal grate, Jungkook watched Yoongi vault down the ladder in one jump and kneel by his side before Jungkook had time to say 'ow'. One hand was placed behind Jungkook's back and sat him up slightly. Jungkook watched concern flash through Yoongi's eyes as he said,

"Jungkook! Please, please tell me you aren't hurt! Did you hit anything? I'm so sorry. Can you sit up?" Jungkook listened to the distress in Yoongi's voice and shook himself out of his trance as he sat up.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's okay." He moved to stand up and pain flared through his back. "O-okay, maybe not." Jungkook groaned and lay back down, closing his eyes against the throbbing along his spine. Without a word, Yoongi's arms slipped behind Jungkook's shoulders and under his legs. He was lifted effortlessly and Jungkook winced at the movement, gently looping his arms around Yoongi's neck. They descended slowly down seven sets of stairs before they came to the ladder at the end. Jungkook heard Yoongi hum quietly in thought before asking,

"Jungkook, can you go on my back?" Jungkook just looked up at him.

"Can you climb down a ladder with me on your back?" Yoongi shrugged. Only one way to find out. Yoongi very cautiously lowered Jungkook to his feet and Jungkook wrapped his legs around Yoongi's waist and held onto his hyung's shoulders from behind. Yoongi seemed totally unfazed by the weight or the contact and began to climb down the ladder to the floor. Jungkook rested his head in the crook of Yoongi's neck and kept it there.

Once they were at the bottom, Jungkook realised that it had stopped snowing. It was freezing but he was clinging to an actual human radiator so it didn't particularly bother him. Jungkook let go of Yoongi's shoulders and dropped to the floor. Yoongi helped him sit on the snow-covered concrete and they rested for a minute against the wall. Then Yoongi started to take off his belt.

"Jesus Christ, what in hell are you doing?" exclaimed Jungkook and Yoongi smirked.

"First of all, you wouldn't object and you know it. Second, this is not going where you think it is but I can totally see why you think that, given that I am about to ask you to lift up your shirt." Jungkook blinked, making Yoongi laugh. "I need to see your back, genius." Jungkook nodded and lifted up his shirt, not wanting to twist around because it hurt. Yoongi knelt down and examined the red mark near the middle of his back, purring slightly.

"Mmkay, this is not going to be fun, but we do need to ice this. Give me a second and I'll do this quick." Jungkook just sat forward and watched Yoongi collect some clean, fresh snow and pack it tightly. He wasn't kidding when he said 'quick'. In a second, the ice was against Jungkook's back and Yoongi's belt was wrapped around Jungkook's torso, holding the snowball in place. Cold spread through Jungkook's skin and he winced.

"Told you it wouldn't be fun. Can you walk, or do you want a piggyback? It's just to the elevator." Jungkook didn't really want to move at all. But it was freezing outside and his makeshift ice pack was not helping with that. All he knew was there was no chance he would be able to walk.

"Yoongi, it hurts. Can you carry me?" Yoongi looked at him sympathetically. Jungkook's brain turned off. He couldn't tell if he was delirious or infatuated or both but the next thing he knew, his lips were on Yoongi's. At the warm, sweet sensation, Jungkook's conscious mind went into panic mode. Yoongi hadn't pulled away, probably out of shock and Jungkook immediately drew back. "Oh my God, I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean... I don't know what-"

"Jungkook, calm down. Come on, let's get you warm."

Yoongi stood up first and helped Jungkook stand up again. His back hurt less now. Yoongi wrapped his jacket around Jungkook's shoulders before they prepared to get Jungkook safely into the building. Jungkook held onto Yoongi's back and they walked to the front door. Jungkook felt guilty and annoyed at himself; it had been a stupid, potentially ruinous thing to do. Upon entering the thankfully heated foyer of the building, they found an 'out of order' sign plastered on the elevator. Jungkook sighed louder than Yoongi.

Jungkook drowned in debated about whether the silence was awkward all the way to their door. Yoongi opened the door and finally set him down on one of the chairs. The snowball, significantly smaller than before, did nothing to cool the fire raging over Jungkook's body. He didn't quite know where they stood with the kiss but Jungkook sure as hell wasn't going to bring it up. Yoongi pulled two ice packs out of the freezer; they were dancers, so ice packs were always on hand. Yoongi walked back to where Jungkook was sitting.

"Belt," he asked. Jungkook removed Yoongi's belt from around his waist and handed it back. "Ice." He took the lump of snow from under his soaked shirt and gave that to Yoongi as well. Yoongi skilfully chucked it into the sink that was well over ten feet from where he was standing. The kid was good. Jungkook couldn't help but be impressed.

Yoongi knelt beside him and Jungkook blushed, trying not to draw attention. Yoongi didn't seem to notice.

"Anyway, keep this one on your hand," he gave Jungkook one ice pack, "and keep this one by your bed for the morning. Do you need help getting to bed?" Jungkook shook his head, not wanting to inconvenience the older any further. "Cool. I am going to take a shower." Yoongi walked to the bathroom and Jungkook exhaled. With some difficulty, he got up from the chair and went to bed.

He did not, however, go to sleep. His head was racing with everything that had happened in the last hour. He usually went to sleep dreaming of Yoongi but now he was afraid to. What if this got majorly out of control? What if Yoongi never spoke to him again? Jungkook did sort of betray his trust. Would he just pretend it hadn't happened? Would he tell anyone else? Where did this leave them, as friends or something else?

Jungkook had not realised how long he had spent thinking about this until he was snapped back to reality by his bedroom door opening and shutting.

"Hyung?" he asked. He didn't know who it was, but he could call literally any of the others by that name and maybe their answer would reveal their identity. There was no reply. By the dim light from the window, Jungkook could just about make out damp, unbrushed hair and a bare torso. Therefore, it was Yoongi. Jungkook guessed that there was a serious conversation brewing and mentally prepared himself to cry. He was wrong.

Yoongi slid into his bed and lay close to Jungkook, wrapping his arms around the maknae's torso. Jungkook felt his throat turn dry and his cheeks flush red.

"Yoongi? W-what are you doing?" Jungkook asked nervously. Yoongi hummed against his shoulder.

"I thought you might be cold. I wanted to come and fix that." Yoongi dropped his head down and lay next to him, holding Jungkook close.

Jungkook didn't want to speak and theorised that he couldn't. He just lay with Yoongi beside him, praying that morning would never come. But the longer he lay there, the more his brain whirred to find answers and all of his previous questions flooded back to him. Finally, he decided he had to ask.

"Yoongi?" The elder looked at him. Damn, he was gorgeous. "Um…what is this?" Yoongi smiled and rolled his eyes slightly.

"Kookie, it's too early for this. I'll tell you when I've figured it out myself, okay?" Yoongi kissed him passionately again and then hugged Jungkook tightly. Jungkook didn't complain. It was snowing outside and Yoongi was so warm.


	8. Chapter 8 - Jihope

**The comeback was lit af so here's some more fluff to read while streaming Boy With Luv and listening to Mikrokosmos because HONESTLY**

(Sea)

The main room was a mess. Taehyung and Jungkook were fighting for a seat on the couch, even though they could easily sit next to each other. Hoseok was trying to drag them apart but got caught up in the squabble and all three ended up laughing on the floor. Yoongi was reading with headphones on but occasionally looked up and smiled at the scene in front of him. Seokjin was just sitting down and talking to Namjoon, both of them ignoring the situation in the hopes that it would go away.

Then someone knocked over a glass. A muffled clink was heard and everyone fell utterly silent as they watched a cupful of red liquid sink into the carpet. After the initial shock had passed, Taehyung started blaming it on Jungkook and Jungkook apologised profusely before blaming it on Taehyung, starting another fight. Seokjin was yelling at both of them to be more careful while Namjoon was trying to calm him down and Hoseok was dying with laughter. Yoongi continued reading.

When Jimin walked into the chaos of a room, the incident had barely been resolved following a flurry of slaps from Seokjin. Jimin asked,

"Why is everyone laughing?" Hoseok dried his eyes and tried to explain,

"Taehyung took Jungkook's seat on the couch so they…Jimin, are you okay?" he noticed that Jimin looked pale and tired, a look that they had all seen on him before and hoped they would never see again. "What's wrong?" He stared back at them blankly and Yoongi took off his headphones.

"You shouldn't be laughing. We've got so much to do. Don't you understand we're on tour? We need to be learning English or practising choreography or improving our voices. We have so much work to do and we're already behind. Namjoon, please teach Taehyung how to speak basic English and Jungkook, I don't ever want to hear your voice crack like that again. I'm going to the practice room." And he walked out the door. Everyone was left in silence, the frivolity of just seconds before obliterated.

Jimin was right. Aside from Namjoon, their English was still shaky. Their synchronisation could be improved and it was true that Jungkook's voice had cracked badly in practice, but it hadn't been a big deal. Jimin wasn't always like this. He used to be such a perfectionist and so incredibly harsh on himself but he was better now. Well, apparently not. Hoseok was worried. It wasn't a good sign that Jimin had reverted back to his obsessive detail-orientation since that meant he wouldn't sleep or eat until he got everything exactly right. Hoseok needed to talk to him but knew that Jimin wouldn't let him. He did know a way he could try.

"Do what he said," he ordered, flicking everyone out of their thoughts, "Do something, anything productive but stay up here, okay? I'm going with him." No-one looked thrilled with the command but they understood and quietly wished him good luck. Hoseok slid into his room, grabbed his bag and left his five friends in the main room to study or practise.

It wasn't freezing outside and the practice room was only a few blocks away but Hoseok still wished he'd brought a jacket. Jimin hadn't shown any of his usual signs of slipping into his old ways again but that's what worried Hoseok the most: it was sudden and fast and he might keep falling if he didn't get help soon. Otherwise, he would become anorexic, insomnious, existential and far too overworked. Hoseok just prayed he hadn't dropped that far already.

He opened the door to the practice room and music was already playing loudly. Jimin was dancing with an amount of energy that seemed impossible to keep up and Hoseok knew that he couldn't last. He turned off the speaker and Jimin kept dancing until the end of the non-existent verse. He eyed Hoseok, out of breath.

"I need to practice. I don't want to talk." Hoseok looked back at him.

"Me neither," he lied, "I just wanted to clarify some parts. Can you run that bit through again, slowly?" Jimin looked at him suspiciously but moved back into position. Hoseok only let him get through a few bars before stopping him. "Jimin, when was the last time you ate? As in a full meal?" Jimin rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"I said I didn't want to talk."

"I know, Jimin, but you can't dance properly if you don't eat properly. Now answer me. When did you last eat?" Hoseok didn't like being serious or assertive; it made him uncomfortable. But it was necessary. Jimin folded his arms and shifted from foot to foot. He mumbled something. "Louder, please."

"I said 'yesterday morning,' god," Hoseok didn't want to touch on the fact that Jimin was acting like a sullen teenager. He wanted to touch on the fact that the last thing Jimin ate had been over 36 hours ago. As much as Hoseok hated that, he had to admit that Jimin was strong.

"Jimin, you can't- " but Jimin was already moving to walk out of the room. "Jimin!" He ignored Hoseok again. Jimin was almost out of the door when Hoseok caught him by his arm. He turned around and in his eyes, Hoseok saw a tumultuous medley of emotions – anger, confusion, pleading, tiredness, frustration. "Are you sure you don't want to talk?" All of the signals in Jimin's eyes were suddenly drowned by forming tears.

"Let me go," he choked and Hoseok could feel the desperation in his voice. He didn't let him go. Instead, he pulled Jimin towards him and hugged him tightly. The younger grasped his shirt and sobbed into his shoulder. Hoseok stroked the back of Jimin's neck, relieved that he had gotten through to him. They stayed there for a full minute and a half before Jimin gently pulled back. He sniffled and looked up at Hoseok with red, wet eyes.

"Please…I'm really hungry," he whispered and Hoseok smiled and kissed the top of his head.

"Let's go home and get you some food then, hm?" He held Jimin's hand and the boy clung to his arm all the way back to the dorm. They opened the door and the others looked up at them, significantly more subdued than before. They looked at Jimin and then at Hoseok, who held up three fingers. A signal.

They had created their system years back when Taehyung went through a particularly vulnerable phase. It had been Yoongi's idea and he had taught them all the various codes and signals ranging from the little finger straight – the subject is safe but shaken, more or less okay so don't panic – to the index finger bent – the subject is prone to aggressive outburst and precautionary measures should be taken. Three fingers up meant vulnerable and in need, but everything is under control, keep everything calm. The signals was given in secret whenever Taehyung entered a room, but he caught on and the signals began to apply to everyone.

Hoseok took Jimin to his room and tucked him in bed before running to the kitchen to grab a sandwich he had made earlier from the fridge and a bowl of leftover noodles from that lunchtime. He sat next to Jimin's bed and neither of them spoke until all the food was gone which, with Jimin's condition, didn't take long. Jimin still looked on the verge of tears as he lay on his side to face Hoseok and hugged his knees close to his chest.

"Thank you," he muttered softly and Hoseok gently stroked his hair.

"Jimin, did you sleep last night?" he asked quietly and Jimin answered by yawning and shaking his head slightly. "Get some rest, okay? You'll feel better tomorrow." Hoseok stood up to leave but felt Jimin's hand brush against his. He turned around to see Jimin's pale face illuminated by moonlight and gazing up at him.

"Can you stay, Hobi? I don't want to sleep by myself." Hoseok wouldn't say no for a thousand dollars. He slid under the covers with Jimin and embraced him with warmth and love until they both fell asleep.

The sun rose in the morning and Hoseok was awake – he had fallen asleep at eight in the evening. He was just watching Jimin sleep, listening to his breathing, feeling his chest rise and fall. He was so beautiful. His eyes cracked open and Hoseok smiled.

"H-Hoseok? What are you doing here?" he croaked and Hoseok let him have a little bit more space.

"Last night you asked me to stay. So I did." Jimin rubbed his eyes, trying to remember. He groaned and rolled onto his back.

"Please tell me I didn't actually have an existential crisis and then break down in the practice room." Hoseok subconsciously played with Jimin's hair and replied,

"No-one knows what happened to you, Jimin. You stopped eating and you know you need to tell one of us when something like that happens. Why didn't you?" Jimin rolled back over to face Hoseok and sighed,

"I didn't have time. It happened really fast and by the time I was in trouble, I thought I was fine again. It doesn't feel bad or wrong unless I've got someone to tell me it's wrong. A few nights ago, I had a bit of a crisis thinking about how unprepared I am for this tour and how no matter how much I practise I'll never be good enough. Then after I ate breakfast I didn't want to eat because I didn't feel like I deserved it. I didn't want to sleep because I had so much to do. Then last night I guess I just sort of snapped and I wasn't thinking straight. I got really angry at you for some reason but you saved me in the end, I guess."

Hoseok listened with genuine care and concern. He admired this person so much for his strength and ability to sort out everything in his head. Jimin had the determination to get through periods like these and even helped everyone else at the same time. It was incredible. Despite this, Hoseok still didn't know what part of his brain pushed him to do what he did next.

He shifted closer to Jimin and looked deeply into his eyes. He leaned forward and kissed Jimin lightly on the lips. He pulled back immediately once he realised what he had done.

"Um, I-I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking…" Jimin looked a little bit shocked but smiled,

"N-no, it's fine, it was…nice." Hoseok was confused and his confusion didn't go away when Jimin kissed him back. He pulled away and they stared at each other, suddenly wanting this more and more.

Their lips crashed together and Jimin pushed his body against Hoseok's, craving the warmth and comfort of the night before. But a knock at the door threw Jimin away from Hoseok and the two just stared at the door in shock, trying to process what just happened. They looked at each other and immediately knew what to do. Jimin flipped himself over and smothered his head in his pillow, pretending to be asleep, while Hoseok got up and answered the door. It was Jungkook. The maknae was about to speak before Hoseok held a finger to his lips and tiptoed out of the room, pretending to be careful not to wake the 'sleeping' Jimin.

"He's fine now but he had a little bit of a breakdown last night," Hoseok explained to the worried-looking Jungkook.

"Are you sure? Because he looked really ill and I really want to make sure he's okay. Did you sleep there? We were waiting for you to come back and explain but you didn't so we went to bed. But you're going to explain later, right?" Jungkook was always such a worrier and it was kind of cute.

"Yes, Jungkook, he's fine, he's just stressed with the tour and everything," Hoseok reassured him and Jungkook relaxed slightly.

"Okay. I'll get Seokjin-hyung to make him some breakfast," Jungkook said, skipping off to fetch their eldest.

"Nothing too heavy, he hasn't been eating much," Hoseok called before turning to go back into Jimin's room.

He shut the door behind him and climbed back into bed with Jimin, who had actually fallen asleep again. Hoseok didn't really care. He wrapped his arms around Jimin's waist and just lay there with Jimin beside him and the sun rising beyond the trees outside their window.


	9. Chapter 9 - Sope

(Boy Meets Evil)

Dark Hoseok was something that none of them wanted to see. His usual bright, charismatic self melted into a brooding, sinister character that, in all honesty, was terrifying. He dressed predominantly in black and hardly spoke to any of them. He would skulk around the apartment and he became more or less nocturnal. Probably. They didn't see much of him at all since he shut himself in his room most of the time.

They all knew what had happened to make him like this. And her name was not to be spoken at any point. She had been a bad influence on Hoseok from the start, pulling him out of rehearsals for no reason, making herself the priority over her members. But he seemed happy with her and the others were happy for him.

Then she left. She had been seeing someone else for a while, they later discovered. Hoseok didn't cry or beg or argue. He had just walked home and stayed in his room for a very long time. After that, the others didn't hear him laugh or see him smile for a week and they were beginning to get worried. They would try talking to him but he just acted as if they weren't there. He didn't eat with them or play with them and the loss of their sunshine was noticeable and obvious.

When Taehyung tried to get a spontaneous piggy-back from him in the hallway, he was very quickly shrugged to the ground. When Namjoon tried to start a logical conversation, he found himself talking to a closed door. When Jimin wanted help with some choreography, he soon realised that he would have to ask Jungkook. Hoseok was no longer Hoseok and they wanted him back.

They called a meeting in the main room without him to try and think about what to do next. Seokjin led the discussion.

"This has gotten too weird. He's so far from himself and I'm worried. The problem is, I don't know if it's just that he's sad that _she_ left or if there's actually something wrong with him. I just wish I could have done something earlier to help him."

"The thing is about _her_," Jimin rationalised, "is that _she_ was bad for him. _She_ would have left anyway; it's just a good thing _she_ did before _she_ destroyed him completely. Gotta admit, though, _she_ didn't get too far off." They all agreed.

"I just don't know what to do when he's like this," said Jungkook. "It's like living without the sun. It's so dark and cold and it's just impossible."

"He used to be so close to us all. I hate this now." As soon as Taehyung said this, Hoseok's door opened and he floated out of his room towards the kitchen. "Watch this," Taehyung demonstrated. "Hoseok!" He didn't turn around. "Hoseokie!" Again, no response. "Hyung, wanna film with us?" Hoseok just got some food out of the fridge and walked back to his room without saying a word or acknowledging any of them. "See? It's like we don't exist."

"I miss him," Namjoon said, quietly. Yoongi hadn't spoken. He was just staring at Hoseok's door as if he could burn a hole through it. If Hoseok was in a bad mood, so was Yoongi. If Hoseok was in a good mood, Yoongi was in a less bad mood. Suddenly, he stood up.

"I can't take this anymore." He strode to Hoseok's door, cries of dissuasion following him to which he did not listen. Yoongi opened the door and the slammed it behind him. There were no lights on in the room and the curtains were fastened shut, so it took a few seconds for Yoongi's eyes to adjust to the darkness. When they did, he wished they hadn't.

Clothes were strewn all over the room, drawers were upturned and bedsheets had been haphazardly thrown across the floor. A mirror had been smashed and the glass had not been cleared up. Empty bottles of stuff that Yoongi didn't even think Jungkook could buy yet were piling up in one corner of the room. And Hoseok was standing with his back to the wall staring straight at Yoongi. This, however, did not faze Yoongi.

"Oh, so you _do_ know I exist! Sorry, we were worried there for a minute." Yoongi's words dripped with cynicism. Hoseok walked forward and past Yoongi. Or would have done if Yoongi hadn't grabbed his arm and spun him around. "Hoseok, stop it. Just stop fucking ignoring us. Do you know how much you've been worrying Seokjin? He thinks it's his fault you're like this."

"And I suppose it's my fault, is it?" These were the first words Yoongi had heard him say for days and he had forgotten how much he cherished that voice, even if it was a broken version of it. Yoongi couldn't pretend he understood fully what was wrong. But he could take a guess.

"No. It's no one's fault. This was inevitable. Your breakup kick-started something that had been building for a while now. But even so, she took so much away from you and we want to bring it back."

"I don't want it back. You don't know how hard it is to be J-Hope. I annoy myself. I hate myself. She can keep what she took, I don't want it anymore." Yoongi wanted to be gentle and caring and helpful. But Hoseok was pissing him off.

"For God's sake, Hoseok, you were together for five weeks and she was cheating on you for over half of that! She is insignificant, so unworthy of you and everything you stand for! I know it's hard to be so shining and positive, why do you think I stay like this all the time? You bring out the best in everyone, including me, and you're dragging all of us down with you being like this. It's selfish! Get over her!" Hoseok wrenched his arm away from Yoongi and stood over him, radiating control. Yoongi tried his best not to be intimidated but found it very difficult.

Then something changed and Yoongi couldn't quite place what it was. But something in the atmosphere shifted. He met Hoseok's eyes and wasn't afraid. Instead, he felt…something else. He moved slightly closer and Hoseok did the same. Yoongi prayed he hadn't read this wrong.

He grabbed the back of Hoseok's neck and pulled him sharply towards him, connecting their lips furiously. Hoseok gripped Yoongi's waist strongly and pulled him closer. Yoongi hooked his fingers into Hoseok's soft, dark hair, craving more of him. Hoseok ran his hands down the front of Yoongi's shirt and unbuttoned it slowly. Yoongi scratched the back of Hoseok's neck and Hoseok began to kiss down his neck, biting down and leaving bruises wherever he felt like it. Yoongi moaned quietly and Hoseok moved back up to his lips again.

_He is so getting over her,_ Yoongi thought, smiling into the kiss.

There was a knock on the door and Yoongi swore quietly. He reluctantly pulled away from Hoseok. He was in no state to answer the door: his hair was messed, his shirt was open and his skin was marked. He didn't care, though. Yoongi walked to the door and opened it, hearing Jungkook begin to talk without even seeing who answered.

"Hyung, are you okay? We heard you…" Yoongi flicked him in the head to shut him up and looked amusedly at Jungkook's confused, shocked stare.

"Shush. Busy." Yoongi shut the door in the maknae's face and returned his attention to something far more worth his time. He looked at Hoseok, who was biting his lip tantalisingly and wrapping his arms around Yoongi's neck. "Even you've got to admit, this is one hell of a rebound." Hoseok just kissed his neck and whispered,

"I don't know why you're talking when you could be kissing me." Yoongi laughed and kissed Hoseok again. Faintly through the door, they heard Seokjin shout,

"You two, out here now!" They didn't reply. "Or I will bring everyone in that room and we'll meet in there!" Dammit.

"Fine!" Hoseok yelled back. Then, quietly, he said to Yoongi, "Later, 'kay?" Yoongi nodded, disappointed, and started tidying himself up. The combined efforts of memory and anticipation were slowly torturing him and he didn't think he had ever dreaded a meeting more than this. He would just have to wait.


	10. Chapter 10 - Taemin

**This one's kinda weird and it has a lot of perspective changes but I like it soooo**

(What Am I To You?)

Something weird was going on between Taehyung and Jimin. Hoseok thought they might have fallen out but it seemed unlikely that they would keep it to themselves; it was a given for any disputes to be shared with everyone so it could be sorted out quickly. It was odd, too, because they had seemed closer than ever recently with their constant whispering and playing together the past few weeks. But the '95-line was going through some troubles and Hoseok couldn't figure it out.

He shared his concerns with Namjoon because let's face it, everyone shares everything with Namjoon. He was the best leader in the world. As it turned out, he had noticed something was off as well. Neither could think of anything that could have happened and it was starting to get to them. They told Jungkook as well. His best friends were fighting and he looked alone. He didn't know anything either and the three of them groaned and continued to speculate randomly.

Seokjin made dinner. Namjoon, Jungkook and Hoseok had all agreed just to watch, not to force them to talk to each other, but to see if they'd do it themselves. They didn't. Taehyung sat at one end of the table and Jimin sat a few seats away. They weren't opposite or next to each other and it looked so meticulously planned that Hoseok wondered if it was just a prank. The conversation was normal and weird as usual and, although Taehyung and Jimin chipped in now and again, they never spoke directly to each other.

In all honesty, Hoseok faded out of the conversation. He was worried. He didn't want there to be an argument because arguments stressed him the fuck out. He got so paranoid that everything would be ruined and they would split up and they wouldn't make it to their comeback. It scared him. Then something dragged him back to the conversation. Maybe it was his future self telling him to concentrate because he focused back in at the exact right time. He had skipped the earlier conversation, so he didn't know how it got to Jimin saying,

"Oh my God, yes, I love Girl's Generation!" A strange line to come back in on but a valid statement. Then something strange happened.

"Sorry, what was that, Jimin?" Taehyung asked quietly. Hoseok watched in surprise as they seemed to talk with their eyes; Taehyung's a picture of passive-aggression and Jimin's looking both angry and pleading at the same time. "No, really, I didn't hear you." Jimin looked around the table, realising that he couldn't dodge and he had to answer. More subdued than before, he repeated,

"I said I love Girl's Generation." Taehyung looked down at his food again.

"Thank you, that was all I needed." Everyone was silent, sensing that there was more to come. "It's nice to know that you have the ability to love someone." Jimin threw down his chopsticks, trying to hold back anger. Taehyung looked at him with innocence. "What? I think it's good that you can admit that you love people you don't even know." The other five looked among themselves, silently vowing not to get involved. Jimin smiled fakely at Taehyung.

"I'll have you know that Girl's Generation have done a lot for me, you know. Helping me, supporting me, getting me through tough times. That's why I love them. It's such a lovable thing about them. It makes it so easy to love them," he responded. Taehyung's eyes flared with anger.

"Oh, wow, it's so strange how they could tell that you were struggling since you didn't even tell them or anything. It's so strange because no one has telepathy, Jimin." Jimin slammed the table and stood up.

"That's it, I- "

"Jimin, sit the fuck back down," Yoongi interrupted. All eyes flicked to him. He sounded strangely calm against the wave of anger emanating from the other side of the table. Jimin didn't sit down until Yoongi shot him a glare so fierce that Hoseok thought he might set him alight. Jimin sank reluctantly back to his seat. "Taehyung, you can stop smirking, too. You were nowhere close to winning that. Now either have a civil dinner and shut up or we can go to your room and settle this like adults." Hoseok had no idea what the hell was going on and he was more scared than ever. Taehyung rolled his eyes.

"Unless 'settling things like adults' includes beating someone up, there is no way either of those things is happening." Jimin scoffed.

"Speak for yourself, Tae. I'm all for talking this out but it seems that you need to grow up a bit more."

"Excuse me? How am I the one that needs to grow up here?"

"You just threatened to beat me up!"

"Who said anything about you? You think that you're always at the front of my mind but other people do exist, you know! It's not just you in this world and I'm not entirely sure you knew that!"

"You barely acknowledge my existence, anyway!"

"You barely acknowledge anyone else's!"

"You are the worst! You're so unsupportive and oblivious! I don't know how I ever thought I loved you!"

"YOU NEVER LOVED ME!" Taehyung yelled at full volume. His voice cracked, he kicked his chair backwards and shot to his feet. He was very visibly crying. The others could do nothing but watch, like some horror film that they were being forced to sit through. Hoseok was holding his breath subconsciously. He needed answers but couldn't bring himself to ask. Jimin also stood up and Hoseok saw that he was crying as well. Yoongi objected,

"Whoa, okay, I think we just need to- "

"SHUT UP, YOONGI!" Both arguing boys shouted as one. Jimin swiped a hand across his face in a desperate attempt to clear up his tears.

"Tae, how could you ever say that?! I stayed with you, I needed you but you gave me nothing in return! Nothing!"

"Nothing?! I don't remember the last time I slept in my own bed! I _know_ that I'm nothing to you, I _know _I'm just a fuck to you! But you really didn't have to tell everyone! Was it so hard just to let me dream that I meant something?"

"Yes! Because you don't mean something, you mean everything to me!"

"Yeah, right. After all of that, I bet you still can't say it." Jimin stayed silent. "See? I mean the world to you and you'd give me everything except three fucking words that don't even have to be true at this point! What are you so afraid of? We just yelled our relationship problems to the entire goddamn world and you still can't tell me you love me!" Jimin choked on his own breath and didn't reply. Yoongi spoke up again.

"For God's sake, Jimin, just do it already. I know it's not time yet but do you really think you have a choice anymore?" Jimin seemed to be the only one who understood and reached into his back pocket. He pulled out a small black box that he handled anxiously. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

"A year ago tomorrow, we were walking through town and we walked past a shop. You looked through a window and you saw something. You told me, 'Someday, Jimin, someone will love me enough to come here. Someone will- "

"' Someone will buy that with me in mind. And I will love them back enough to not care about something as stupid as a price tag. I will only care about them,'" Taehyung finished for him. Jimin smiled slightly.

"It started to rain really heavily."

"I gave you my jacket."

"We had to shelter in some random shop."

"They kicked us out for being too wet."

"I realised that I wanted to buy that for you. I wanted to be the one that you loved enough to disregard everything else. I realised that I loved you. I realised that I would love you and only you forever. I love you. I promise. Until the end." He held out the box to Taehyung who looked at it before carefully taking it in his hands. He didn't open it. He just looked at Jimin and the box in shock and anticipation. For ages.

"Oh. My. God. Taehyung. Open the goddamn box," Seokjin demanded, staring at the scene like it was a real-life k-drama. Taehyung and Jimin laughed a little and they were both still crying. Taehyung opened the box and smiled as if he already knew what was inside.

"Until the end," he whispered. He lifted out the most beautiful, delicate bracelet that Hoseok had ever seen. It was a glittering, silver mesh chain that looked like it was encrusted with diamonds. The clasp was the prettiest blue gem, the December birthstone. It looked like it had black writing around the shimmering outline of the clasp. Hoseok couldn't read it, but he assumed it read, _Until the end_.

Jimin stepped forward and wrapped it around Taehyung's wrist, securing it in place. They looked at each other, eyes filled with tears and love. Taehyung leaned in and kissed Jimin softly and passionately. Jimin wrapped his arms around Taehyung's neck and the other five applauded and whooped enthusiastically, making them laugh and break the kiss. They wiped away their residual tears and everyone took a beat to compose themselves.

"Well," Namjoon sighed, "That was… I'm gonna go with emotional."

"Can we get an explanation up in here?" Jungkook was only crying a little bit but he was still confused. Yoongi sat back.

"I take full responsibility for fixing that," Yoongi stated and everyone else disagreed emphatically, without even knowing what just happened. "Settle down, kids, and let me tell you a story."

Jimin came into my room without knocking and lay face down on my bed. Okay.

"Um… Jiminie, you good?" Jimin rolled over, smiling widely.

"Hyung, I'm in love," he replied, dreamily. So he had chosen me to listen to him fawn over some pretty stranger he had seen on the street. Nothing he hadn't done before. Jimin fell in love a lot.

"Who is it now?" I asked. Jimin sat up and looked at me with a deadly serious gaze.

"No, hyung, I'm really in love. I can't stop thinking about him. I need help." The one time Jimin actually falls in love and he doesn't even want it. Perfect. "I can't sleep, I can't eat, I can't live around him. I love him so much and it hurts."

"Whoa, Jimin, who did this to you?" Jimin had complained about love to me before but never like this. This time was serious. He rolled over again but I had already seen him blush. He mumbled something into the mattress. "What?" He flopped onto his back.

"Taehyung." Well then.

"Our Taehyung? As in Kim Taehyung? The one we live with? And perform with? And see every day? That Taehyung?" Jimin rolled his eyes.

"Don't remind me." I begged him to confess. It would be so much better that way but he wouldn't listen. I knew he was scared and I didn't blame him. It took him half a year. 6 months. And he finally confessed. And it totally worked. He told me that Taehyung didn't really know what to do since they were idols and couldn't date. They stayed secretly crushing on each other for two more months and just took comfort in the fact that they liked each other.

Remember that night we all got drunk? They hooked up for the first time. I won't go into detail like Jimin did, because honestly, dude, too much information. But then they decided to be together. Still in secret, but together at least.

Then they had a fight (_Yoongi I'll take it from here_). Take it away, Jimin.

We were lying in bed one morning a few weeks ago. It was about 6 am because of secrecy and all that jazz. We were just lying together because it was nice and comfortable and warm.

"I want us to come out," Taehyung said. That was a hard pass from me. I had too much going on to deal with you guys judging us for a relationship that didn't even change us. My sexuality is… confused so I don't even know what the fuck's going on in my head at the moment (_You're Taesexual_). Shut up, Seokjin. I said no and laughed it off, but he was serious. And he kept bringing it up when he knew I wouldn't go with it. I refused for the hundredth time and he suddenly said,

"But I love you. I love you and I don't want to hide anymore. I love you." I didn't reply. Of course, I loved him. I admitted that to Yoongi months and months ago. But it felt like a big step. It felt so real and I didn't know if I was ready for real. So I didn't say anything. Obviously, not a great move. (_No, no it wasn't_). Tae, I love you (_You'd better_). Wow, okay. Anyway, he got mad and stormed out and didn't speak to me for the whole day. He still slept in my bed, but he didn't say anything. I was annoyed at him for it. This was my decision; he couldn't force me to say or do anything I wasn't comfortable with. So we just stayed mad at each other and only Yoongi knew anything.

Then I walked through town and I passed that shop and I remembered that I loved him so, so much (_Love you, too_). I went in and I bought the bracelet. I was going to wait and give it to you tomorrow so it would be like an anniversary thing. But things… escalated, shall we say? So, that's it. That's the story.

Hoseok genuinely nearly squealed and he could tell that the others felt the same way.

"Oh my God, that's so cute! We were so worried about you since you weren't talking so we guessed something was up," he burst out. Taehyung and Jimin just smiled at him and everyone smiled back.

He was happy that no one was dead or crying or fighting. Everything was happy. As it should be.


	11. Chapter 11 - 2Seok Round 2

(Look Here)

It had started off as a simple competition to see who could ignore everyone else for the longest. Yoongi's idea, of course, but a fun prospect nonetheless. It was funny to them to pretend not to know each other, especially since they were so close. It was pretty boring in the dressing rooms, so they went along with it. They lasted about five minutes, completely and totally not acknowledging each other's existence.

Taehyung and Jungkook cracked after six minutes and four seconds (Hoseok had started a timer), simultaneously bursting into fits of laughter that immediately made Jimin break as well. The maknae line then took it upon themselves to make everyone else lose. They were dancing around and being loud, trying so hard to make everyone laugh. But the other four weren't giving up so easily.

Except for Namjoon. He couldn't contain his laughter at Taehyung speaking purposefully broken English and left the game. At the fifteen-minute mark, Hoseok, Yoongi and Seokjin were still successfully ignoring their fellow members. Hoseok was feeling particularly proud of himself for not jumping up to join in the fun that the others seemed to be having by trying to break the others. He was feeling strangely competitive with this and tried his best to not smile at Jungkook's terrible dancing or Namjoon's terrible singing.

Jimin decided to take a different approach. In his peripheral vision, Hoseok saw Jimin whisper something in Yoongi's ear that instantly made him smile and hit Jimin. He got up and joined the others in defeat. It was just Hoseok and Seokjin left in the game and they were doing well. In the end, it was Yoongi that made him laugh. He was jumping and mimicking Hoseok's enthusiasm during a recent performance of Cypher Pt 4 and Hoseok couldn't help but laugh and push him over. The other four cheered at their success and focused their attention on Seokjin.

He was doing very well not paying attention to any of them. They were beginning to think that maybe he was annoyed at them for something because forty minutes passed and not a word from Seokjin. It was getting a little bit annoying. They had long given up on making this their priority, rather whenever any of them entered the room he happened to be in, they briefly tried to surprise him or make him laugh. Literally anything.

It had been an hour and sixteen minutes. Hoseok was bored with the game. He was tired of Seokjin acting like he didn't exist. He was just on his phone and Hoseok wondered how he wasn't bored out of his mind by now. Hoseok approached him and tried again.

"Hyung, you won, you can stop now." No reply. "Seokjin, come on, I'm bored." Nothing. An idea sparked in Hoseok's mind. Probably a bad one, but if Seokjin was ignoring him anyway, why shouldn't he have some fun? Once everyone there was no one else in the room, Hoseok locked the door. It was unlikely that anyone would come looking for them since Hoseok had been complaining non-stop that he was tired and Seokjin was still playing the game. There was hardly anything useful in the room either. Not much chance of interruption.

"Really not going to talk to me, huh?" Seokjin stayed silent. "Fine by me." Hoseok came up behind Seokjin's chair and wrapped his arms around the elder's neck. He very lightly kissed Seokjin's neck and hummed in his ear. "Staying quiet for me, baby?" No response. Hoseok figured that if he wanted to stop, he would have said something. They were often close to each other in public or on camera, but that skinship was often just for the fans. Hoseok wanted to see how far he could push before Seokjin snapped.

He planted more kisses down Seokjin's neck; deeper this time, bolder. He could tell that Seokjin was tense but wasn't going to stop until he was told to. Hoseok became braver and sucked a little underneath his jawbone, causing Seokjin's head to twitch slightly. Hoseok laughed at his stubbornness and walked around Seokjin's chair and sat on his lap. Seokjin continued playing on his phone as if nothing was happening. Hoseok smiled. He kissed him gently on the lips and felt nothing in return. So he trailed kisses along Seokjin's cheek and down his jawline.

Hoseok really couldn't be bothered to hold back at this point. Seokjin wasn't reacting and Hoseok was bored. Hoseok buried one hand in Seokjin's hair and tongued his neck, moving down to his collarbones. His free hand skipped lightly up Seokjin's shirt and pushed against his chest. He shifted his weight so their bodies were closer together and bit down slightly on Seokjin's skin. Seokjin made a sound. Hoseok looked up and saw Seokjin still concentrating on his phone but blushing profusely.

Hoseok shook his head and stood up. Seokjin still wasn't paying him any attention. Rude. He folded his arms.

"You, Kim Seokjin, are incredibly good at this game." Hoseok walked over to the door, smiling. That seemed almost unreal. He was sure that he would freak out about it once he'd had more time to think about it, but for now, he was kind of hungry. He was about to unlock the door when, without much warning from his body, he sneezed. That surprised him more than anything that had happened in the past fifteen minutes and he shook his head to recover.

"Bless you." Hoseok snapped his head around to look at Seokjin, who was _still _on his phone. Those were the first words that Seokjin had said to any of them for over an hour and a half. Hoseok couldn't fight his laughter.

"Okay, that totally counts as paying attention to me; you can talk to us now!" Hoseok clapped as Seokjin rolled his eyes.

"That was not a fair match. I'm 99% sure that was cheating." Hoseok unlocked the door and opened it, preparing to leave. He grinned,

"Really? Wanna take it up with the others?" Jungkook just happened to be walking past the door at that moment and looked inside the room curiously.

"Take what up with the others? Did he crack yet?" Hoseok nodded and hi-fived Jungkook. "You did it! How?" Hoseok shrugged and looked back at Seokjin, who was giving a silent warning with his eyes.

"He just loves me too much, I guess." Seokjin glared at him and Jungkook tilted his head at the exchange. Hoseok giggled, "Kidding; I sneezed and he said 'bless you' by accident. I wish it was more interesting, honestly." Seokjin smiled and blushed. Hoseok winked without Jungkook seeing, sending a message: he would pay for ignoring him.


	12. Chapter 12 - Namgi

(Dope)

It was far, far too late to be at the studio. That did absolutely nothing to prevent Yoongi from being there, however. 2 am and he was still working; he had been since lunch the previous day, which was…13 hours ago? 14? It was hard to keep track of time. Honestly, Yoongi needed the time by himself. Their comeback was fast approaching and it was beginning to get stressful, so instead of rehearsing and repeating dance moves for the 8000th time, Yoongi instead chose to stay in his studio, surrounded by his creations.

He felt better like this. He could 100% lose himself in the music and let his brain do whatever it wanted. It could think up lyrics, happy or sad, cute or personal, and Yoongi would let it run away. Just so he didn't have to concentrate on anything. He didn't know what day it was, he didn't remember the last time he slept, he didn't remember where his phone was. He was switched off and just relaxed.

And then the door opened. He regretted not changing the code to his studio after Hoseok discovered it, so now at least three of his bandmates were being loud and Yoongi did not appreciate it. Upon turning around, he saw that there were four of them and they were very drunk. Hoseok and Jimin were singing completely different songs as loudly as they could, probably thinking they were musical geniuses and Taehyung was dancing along to the cacophony of noise. Namjoon was stumbling in behind them.

"Yoongi!" he slurred, "You're coming out dancing with us! Come on, let's have fun! Jungkook and Seokjin-hyung are already there, let's go!" Before Yoongi could object, Namjoon had grabbed his wrist and following the newly-formed conga line out of the door. It was times like these that Yoongi regretted agreeing to a place so close to a club. He didn't know how Jungkook and Seokjin were coping by themselves and he formed a logical argument that he knew would be wasted on his incoherent friends. He still tried.

"Namjoon, we can't go to a club. We'll get recognised and we can't have drunk footage of us anywhere in case we slip up." Namjoon just shushed him.

"First off, you're not drunk, so you're supposed to be looking after us. Secondly, it's okay, we've got a plan." They found Jungkook and Seokjin outside a club, laughing. The plan was explained. They would sneak in without being recognised, wait for a BTS song to play, then own the place. Simple. As much as Yoongi loathed this plan, he couldn't deal with trying to convince six drunk idiots to just go to sleep. Besides, he needed some fun tonight and laughing at his friends seemed pretty entertaining. So they snuck into the club.

It was exactly eleven minutes before a song they had made started to play. They had done a pretty good job thus far of keeping their faces covered and just mingling among the club-goers. But when a lot of girls screamed at Namjoon's voice blasting from the speakers, they all threw off their various sunglasses and face masks and hats and gathered near the centre of the floor. They smiled, about to burn the place up.

"Ayo ladies and gentlemen…" A few people turned. "If you're ready, I'll start, yeah…" A lot more people turned. "Different from other guys, with my style, with my style, ayo!" Jungkook had successfully gotten the attention of the entire club within two lines of the song. Yoongi appreciated his ability to keep his voice steady despite his inebriated mind. Jimin made a few more girls scream and one may have fainted as they assumed their familiar formation, grinning at each other.

After the longest four minutes of Yoongi's life, the song ended, leaving all seven of them thoroughly out of breath and being mobbed by enthusiastic Armys. The crowd was closing in and Yoongi had the advantages of being sober and small. He ducked through the crowd until he was a safe distance away from the throng of fangirls and fanboys besieging the others. By the time the next song finished, all of them were free and back to blending in again.

Namjoon joined Yoongi next to the wall, looking very flushed and exhilarated. It was cooler here and Yoongi wanted to stay a bit longer before diving back into the loud, hot amalgamation of sweating bodies on the dance floor. A song that Yoongi vaguely recognised as a killer bop began to play and suddenly, Yoongi wanted nothing more than to dance. But he didn't want to dance by himself. Unfortunately for Namjoon, he was within grabbing distance of Yoongi and was soon being led to the main floor.

Probably about half an hour passed of Namjoon and Yoongi laughing and singing and dancing and yelling and bopping and jumping with each other, not caring about the attention or the flashlights. Just having fun was all that mattered. They had no clue where the others had disappeared to; might be trampled under fans, might be doing something else under fans. It didn't matter. This was a night and a good one at that.

The mood switched up. A slower, smoother song played and everyone knew what that meant. Whether you were with someone or not, whether you knew anyone or not, you _had_ to couple up. Yoongi and Namjoon were closest to each other so Yoongi automatically wrapped his arms around Namjoon's neck, the other's hands falling around Yoongi's waist. Without the masses of people twisting and churning around, Yoongi could see better.

Taehyung and Hoseok had partnered up, Taehyung looking almost unable to stand up by this point. Jungkook was clinging to Seokjin with fervour and Jimin was somewhere else, switching suavely between four or five partners. _Player_. Yoongi caught his eye and smiled disbelievingly at him. Jimin just shrugged and twirled to dance with a different girl. This led Yoongi to focus his attention back on Namjoon. He blinked, wondering if someone had spiked his drink, before remembering that he hadn't drunk anything.

Because he looked at Namjoon and found him utterly beautiful. Well-defined cheeks and jawline, perfectly mussed, faded lavender hair, deep brown eyes that locked onto Yoongi's with a kind of intensity he hadn't felt in a while. Yoongi was suddenly very aware of Namjoon's hands encircling his waist and the close contact between them. He wanted to pull slightly further away, just to get some space, but his body wouldn't let him. Sirens pinged in Yoongi's head, alerting him to something he no longer cared about. He smiled,

"Thanks for dragging me out tonight. I had a lot of fun." Namjoon didn't respond, seemingly lost in thought. Maybe trying to process the words, a skill he found more difficult after a few drinks. But his eyes seemed clear. Until he closed them. And leaned in. Close. And Yoongi let him. Their lips connected gently and Yoongi didn't think he had ever touched anything softer than Namjoon's lips.

A silky, honey-like feeling filled Yoongi from head to toe, giving him a feeling of contentment and completion that he didn't want to let go of. But then his sirens came back on again. He was kissing Namjoon in public, with people around, with cameras watching, while Namjoon was drunk and Yoongi was sober. There were suddenly so many things wrong with that sentence that Yoongi's brain failed to pick out every detail. He delicately pulled back and whispered,

"Namjoon, we can't. Not here, not now." Namjoon just tilted his head. The song was only halfway done but he still raised his hand to meet Yoongi's and held it tightly. He pulled him out of the door, leaving their other five members to fend for themselves without a sober guide. Yoongi's studio was a block away from the club and their apartment building was just across the road from that. However, they didn't exactly want to waste any time, so Yoongi punched in the code to the studio and led them both inside.

Namjoon pinned him against the wall, surprising Yoongi slightly, but he decided to just go with it. Because why not? Well… because Namjoon was drunk. Because they couldn't start a relationship together, that would ruin a nine-year-long friendship and get them dropped from their company. Because everything would be so incredibly awkward for all of them. That's why not. But Namjoon was kissing his neck and moaning against him and it just felt so…right. Despite this, Yoongi tried to push Namjoon's shoulders away.

"Joonie, stop, we can't," he protested, but Namjoon looked into his eyes again and Yoongi melted.

"Hyung," his voice was low and deep and Yoongi could definitely see where these fans were coming from, "Relax, you deserve this." Yoongi found it absolutely impossible to object. Everything about this seemed so perfect and all the hesitation, every single doubt in Yoongi's mind, faded away to the feeling of Namjoon's lips against his skin, the assertiveness yet sensitivity with which he kissed him.

But Yoongi must have seriously pissed off fate because she sent Jungkook to go and find them right at that moment. The rational part of Yoongi's mind overwhelmed the non-rational part in a split-second of panic. Just before Jungkook could turn the corner and catch them, he pushed Namjoon away with force, helping him sit on the couch. The most annoying maknae in the world entered the studio and flopped beside Namjoon. Yoongi felt jealous.

"Hyungs, me and Hobi got kicked out of the club for getting into a fight but no one can find Jiminie. Is he here?" Jungkook complained to both of them. Yoongi sighed and shrugged, frustrated.

"No, Jungkook-ah, Jimin isn't here. Why don't you go out and find him?" he answered, trying to stay nice. Jungkook whined and sank further into the couch.

"Why can't you two do it? You're both not drunk, anyway." Wow, that kid was drunk.

"Jungkookie, Namjoon isn't sober." Pulling himself up, Jungkook stretched and replied,

"Yeh, he is, he only drank water. He drove us back from the other club. Anyway, I'm gonna go try and find Jimin if he hasn't stolen a girl. See yall." And with that, he tripped back out onto the street. Yoongi turned his attention back to Namjoon, who was just watching the younger boy leave. He smiled and Yoongi realised why his eyes were so clear.

"Namjoon, you aren't drunk?" Namjoon looked like he was thinking but then shook his head.

"No. I mean, unless Taehyung spiked my drink. I honestly would put it past him, he's that kind of- "

"Namjoon, what the hell?!" Yoongi was yelling and he didn't quite know why. Namjoon hadn't exactly lied to him at all. If anything, it was Yoongi's fault for assuming he was drunk. No one had taken advantage of anyone and both of their minds had been working to full capacity. So what was the problem? Maybe the last ten minutes had sparked something in Yoongi that he didn't want to admit. That he could hardly admit to himself, let alone anyone else. Namjoon stood up.

"Whoa, Yoongi, calm down. I would apologise but I don't see anything that I did wrong. Could you tell me please?" Damn Kim Namjoon for being a reasonable human being. Yoongi stammered, wanting to be mad and not knowing why.

"You kissed me on purpose!" Namjoon waited to hear what he had done. "In public!" Namjoon was still waiting. "Do you really not see what the problem is with that?" Yoongi thought he knew but couldn't quite put his finger on it. Namjoon sighed.

"Can you honestly look into my eyes and say that you didn't want that? That you wouldn't have made the first move if I hadn't?" Well…

"Okay, that's an unfair question, I can't think when I'm looking into your eyes." Namjoon just grinned. Yoongi tried hard not to smile with him.

"Hyung, you did hear yourself say that, right? I told you, you wanted that to happen just as much as I did. So what's wrong?" Yoongi stayed silent out of protest. "I know how to make you tell me." Namjoon moved closer until Yoongi could smell his cologne. He tried not to shudder; key word being 'tried'. His body shivered involuntarily and Namjoon chuckled. He gently stroked Yoongi's hair and whispered,

"Tell me." Yoongi was holding back now not because he didn't know or was ashamed, but because he wanted Namjoon to force the words out of him. They needed to be earned, won. Namjoon kissed lightly along Yoongi's cheekbone and moved down, brushing against his lips. Yoongi kept his mouth shut, not trusting himself not to spill. Namjoon's hands ran down Yoongi's spine and rested in the small of his back, pulling him in closer. Yoongi's resolve burned away completely.

"I want you so bad," he breathed, "I need you. I keep having to tell myself I'm awake because I've been dreaming about this for so long. You have no idea how many times I nearly lost control around you, had to pull myself together after you broke me apart. God, I've prayed for this for so long and it's so fucking good. I love you so much and I can't even tell anyone. But this…this is real now so don't ever leave. Please." The confession flowed out of Yoongi's mouth without him really focusing but he knew every word was true.

Namjoon raised his head to imprison Yoongi's eyes with his own again. Yoongi would fall for them every single time, just as he had been doing for the better part of the last nine years. He hadn't admitted to anyone, not even himself, that he loved Namjoon. And now that he had, that simple fact ruled over his mind and made the world a little bit brighter. Namjoon smiled at him, showing off the cutest dimples in the world, and kissed Yoongi again. He was in for a hell of a night. He was in for a hell of a life.


	13. Chapter 13 - Yoonkook

**y'know I'm just gonna start uploading these in threes bc that's way easier and less stress on me so**

(War of Hormone)

"Hyung, I can't do it."

"I know, Jungkook, but at least try, okay?"

"Fine. But if you look too hot then that isn't my fault."

Jungkook was getting bored. They were doing a bunch of throwback specials and performing songs they never thought they would again. They had gotten to War of Hormone and he was already dying. Because he was going out with Yoongi. It was so hard on Jungkook to see his boyfriend back in his Dark & Wild era and not be able to take him then and there.

"it's hard for me too, you know," argued Yoongi, "Do you have any idea how hot you are when you rap?" Jungkook shrugged and smiled because yes, he did. They were a well-kept secret from everyone, including their bandmates. It was actually kind of funny at times to see them so clueless. But if they revealed their relationship, there would be torrents of hate. Probably a lot more love, but still a lot of hate. Mostly from Taekook and Yoonmin shippers. And not to mention the Sope stans, they would go insane.

At the moment, they were in a spare dressing room, back in their old clothes and trying to figure out how to keep it together onstage. Especially during Yoongi's rap when Jungkook would have to pick him up. They were just admiring each other properly since they couldn't keep staring in front of cameras or the others. Jungkook missed his comfortable, oversized sweaters and, apparently, Yoongi missed them too. Yoongi was looking like a damn god. Jungkook had very nearly forgotten just how fine Dark & Wild Suga looked with his dark eyeliner and abundance of leather.

Once they were done truly taking in the time warp, they joined the others in the main dressing room. Jimin was back in his red pants and Taehyung had what he described as "_the_ jacket" back. Even Jungkook had to admit that this era of V was iconic. But basically, everyone was just running around with pre-show excitement. Yoongi shrugged at Jungkook and slouched across a sofa. Taehyung and Jimin roped him into a game of tag in the most inconvenient, restricted area possible. Of course he would play.

After about ten minutes of running around, nearly breaking things, apologising and repeating, the maknae line fell onto a couch and rested up before the performance. Yoongi had basically not moved. Jungkook bit his lip and raked his eyes across his boyfriend's form, taking in everything again. Hoseok snapped his fingers in front of his eyes and Jungkook jumped.

"Once you're done mentally undressing our hyung," Hoseok joked, making Jungkook blush, "can you run through your rap part? It's been a while." Jungkook rolled his eyes and began rapping fluently, remembering all of the pronunciation tricks that Yoongi had taught him. Hoseok grinned, "Ayyyy, well done! We should really give Rapper Jungkook a comeback, you know **(do it Bighit)**. Or a part in Cypher pt 5." Taehyung immediately looked up.

"Oh, _hell no_! There is no way Jungkook is getting that part before I am! Do you know how long I've been waiting for this? I swear to God; I _deserve_ that part **(yes he does)**." Hoseok stepped back, expecting a fight.

"Whoa, it was a joke! You two know full well that neither of you are getting parts. And besides, Tae, if we really wanted to piss you off, we'd give the part to Jimin." Jimin laughed.

"Am I allowed to pass on that? I feel like Yoongi would kill me anyway before we finished it," he looked over at Yoongi, who looked back briefly and nodded before turning back to his phone. Jungkook smiled. He loved Yoongi being a little dark and reclusive and it took a lot not to bite his lip again. Seokjin appeared from somewhere and started randomly hitting Hoseok on the shoulder. Hoseok turned around and started hitting him back. It would have gotten a lot more violent if Namjoon hadn't broken it up.

"We have a show in literally ten minutes, calm down," he said, and Hoseok and Seokjin reluctantly stopped fighting. There was always a strange energy just before a performance, but no one really minded. The live audience would ground them. A stage manager walked in with a clipboard and informed them,

"There are 10,000 people in the audience and cameras streaming live. I think we're ready for you to get up there." The seven of them beamed. It still felt unreal how so many people actually wanted to listen to them and watch them perform. It was crazy the impact they had on people's lives. They stood up and went through some last minute checks on makeup and mics before they were led to directly below the stage.

Jungkook glanced at Yoongi. There were a lot of people there and even more watching live on TV. They could not mess this up. They heard an announcer call their name and there was a lot of fake smoke as they rose up onto the stage. The lights from the audience were beautiful and their screams were deafening. Namjoon did a quick introduction and Jungkook wondered how he wasn't still awe-struck.

"Shall we do it?" Namjoon shouted and the reply was a wave of screams louder than before. "Cool! Let's go, guys." They got into position with everyone except Namjoon off to the side and the familiar song began to play. The fans screamed for them as they entered two by two. If Jungkook was being perfectly honest, this was Taehyung's song. For these four minutes, he owned the stage and the audience' attention.

So when Jungkook slipped up slightly on the very first line of his verse, he pushed through. He could feel Yoongi's support come telepathically and he loved it. The chorus came smoothly and it was Taehyung's time to shine out. With their new music, there wasn't much scope for any bad boy concept, but Taehyung brought it right back. Then Yoongi started rapping and Jungkook's mind hazed momentarily. That always happened. It was like a side effect.

Jungkook grinned and winked, knowing someone would see it. He put his head between Yoongi's legs and held him up on his shoulders. He listened as Yoongi's voice changed slightly and he laughed internally at the effect he had. Yoongi kicked him slightly. It probably looked like just an accident but Jungkook knew it was on purpose. Payback. He put Yoongi down and they kept going. While Hoseok and Taehyung were doing their thing, Yoongi got close enough so that Jungkook could hear him whisper,

"Fuck you, Kookie, I love you." Jungkook didn't have the time or space to reply but smirked anyway. The show must go on, no matter how cute his boyfriend was being. They got to the last chorus and Jungkook remembered what came next and shot a glance at Yoongi. He loved this part for the pure fact that it made Yoongi insanely jealous.

"La la la la la la la la," he sang and Taehyung took centre stage again before slapping Jungkook's ass. He couldn't see Yoongi from where he was, but Jungkook knew he would not be looking. Because he got so jealous at times and who could blame him when Jungkook could literally make anyone in the whole arena kneel before him without even trying that hard. He understood why Yoongi got so jealous because he felt it, too. Whenever Jimin went near him. Honestly, that kid was such a flirt he probably made Yoongi jealous as well. But Jungkook did love him. Yoongi was the hottest, kindest, funniest, most talented person in the world and Jungkook loved him more than anything. And he needed Yoongi to know that. Like, right now.

They were literally in their final formation. They were literally about four bars from the end of the song. Yoongi was just behind Jungkook. So Jungkook did it. He turned around, grabbed Yoongi's shirt and pulled him in. Even though the audience grew infinitely louder, Jungkook didn't hear them. He kissed him. In front of 10,000 people and a bunch of TV cameras. Jungkook did not care. And it seemed that Yoongi didn't either. Because he kissed Jungkook back in front of 10,000 people and a bunch of TV cameras.

Somehow, this felt different to any other time he had kissed Yoongi. Not because of the spectators, but because Jungkook needed to prove to Yoongi, prove to the world, how much he loved him. So Jungkook kissed him deeply, passionately, as if Yoongi would disappear if he didn't. Yoongi's hand entwined with Jungkook's and held it tightly. Jungkook smiled into the kiss and felt Yoongi smile back. All Jungkook could think was that he really loved Yoongi. More than he had ever loved anyone and more than he ever would. And Yoongi loved him back. Jungkook only wanted Yoongi and after the show, he would have him.

Yoongi pulled back and looked at him. He was blushing, which was to be expected. Jungkook looked back and smiled bashfully. Yoongi bit his lip and whispered,

"I feel like later, we're gonna remember everything wrong with that, but for now at least, I love you so fucking much." He pecked Jungkook's lips again and moved away to walk across the stage. Jungkook realised that the others were looking at them, a mixture of confused, shocked and amused. Yoongi raised his mic and projected a very drawn out, "Annnnyway." Jungkook laughed and the audience joined him.

Something clicked in Jungkook's mind and he realised the full extent of what he had done. But he wasn't horrified of regretful. He was amazed at himself. That was such a stupid thing to do and Jungkook found it so funny. He was a little embarrassed and covered his face with his hands, still giggling like he was high. Namjoon and Hoseok walked over to make sure he was okay while Seokjin made some joke to the audience.

Yoongi and their fans noticed Jungkook's slightly messed state. Jungkook did not know what his emotions were doing. He was happy, angry, in love, annoyed, amused and surprised all at once. He began to tear up and before he knew it, he was crying. Yoongi gently pushed Namjoon and Hoseok away before kissing Jungkook lightly again and hugging him tightly. Jungkook wrapped his arms around Yoongi and buried his head in his shoulder. He was still laughing but it probably looked like he was crying from the audience's perspective.

A chant rose up from somewhere near the back of the audience and made Jungkook look up. "Yoonkook! Yoonkook! Yoonkook!" Over and over as it took over the crowd. Jungkook smiled at Yoongi, who smiled back.

"Hey, guys, can we wrap this up? We've got a show to do and you've got plenty of opportunities to be the most adorable thing I've ever seen at home," Hoseok said into his mic. The audience cheered as they kissed one more time and then joined the others in the middle of the stage. Taehyung groaned loudly,

"Oh no, they're gonna be cute at home." Jimin giggled,

"Don't get me wrong, you two, that's loveable as hell, but I agree with V; that's probably gonna get annoying after a while." Jungkook raised his mic, intending to retaliate, but his voice cracked from crying/laughing. The audience shouted their support as the others laughed at him. Yoongi held his hand tighter and winked at him, making him smile. "See what I mean? That's going to be constant," Jimin said. Yoongi just looked at him and said,

"You don't have to watch, Jimin-ssi. Just turn around and we'll be cute without you." The audience whooped in agreement and Jimin raised his hands in surrender. Namjoon spoke up,

"Sorry, can I point something out?" Everyone nodded. "The next song is 24/7=Heaven. Is it just me or is that perfect?" The audience cheered and the seven of them laughed together. Jungkook didn't let go of Yoongi's hand through the whole song. When they had to dance to Danger, he let go but swiped it back up again soon after. He didn't want to be without him. Ever. For the rest of his life.


	14. Chapter 14 - Namseok

(Mic Drop)

Namjoon was throwing things. Seokjin had ushered Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook into his room and locked the door to keep them safe. Hoseok, Yoongi and Seokjin were trying to calm him down, which was surprisingly difficult. Hoseok hadn't realised how much glass they owned until Namjoon started breaking it. They had to keep a fine line between trying to mollify Namjoon and keeping themselves safe. Hoseok was about three seconds away from pushing Seokjin and Yoongi into the locked room as well.

"How do they think they can fucking disrespect us like that, huh? Who the fuck do they think they are?" Namjoon yelled. "Who gave them the right to talk shit about us?" He smashed an unfortunately placed bowl. In hindsight, it was a mistake to have gone out drinking in public in the same country as B-Free and his supporters. They were bound to come into direct contact with hate eventually; it was just an unfortunate coincidence that Namjoon was drunk at the time. Yoongi stepped forward carefully.

"Namjoon, we get that you're angry- " he was cut off by Namjoon hurling a glass at Seokjin's door, where the younger ones were sheltered. Hoseok signalled to Seokjin, who slipped into the room, careful to avoid the broken glass, and shut the door again. By this time, Hoseok thought, they would be anxious and concerned, so he would give them any comfort he could, even if it was just Seokjin telling them it was okay. Yoongi continued, his voice calm and soft,

"We know you're angry but you've got to calm down. You're scaring us because we know this isn't you. We don't know who this is. I'm asking you, Namjoon, please. You know this isn't right. Can you sit down for us?" Surprisingly, this seemed to work. Namjoon moved to the couch and slumped down. Yoongi and Hoseok let out a collective sigh.

Namjoon laughed. It started off as a low chuckle but quickly progressed into relentless giggles that unnerved the two. Hoseok shot a glance at Yoongi, who returned his confusion.

"Namjoon?" Hoseok asked tentatively, "What are you laughing at?" Namjoon took a few deep breaths to calm himself but kept grinning into space.

"Those motherfuckers thought they could get away with it, too." In a split second, Namjoon had leapt off the couch and shot to the door. He was outside before either of the others could react. Without speaking, they instantly agreed on a plan: Hoseok, the faster runner, would sprint after Namjoon; Yoongi would stay with the others, keep them informed and always be near a phone. Hoseok ran out of the door.

Fortunately, they hadn't wasted a lot of time and Hoseok could see or hear which direction Namjoon had gone. He sprinted down the stairs, out of the building and chased Namjoon through the streets. Hoseok was lucky that Namjoon was slightly drunk. Namjoon kept running and Hoseok was getting a little tired. Eventually, they reached a street that Hoseok recognised as the one where they had been called out by a bunch of people earlier and put Namjoon in his current state.

Hoseok had nearly caught up when he watched Namjoon swiftly grab an empty beer bottle from the sidewalk and threw it forcefully at a car parked on the curb. Hoseok sprinted towards him and held his arms back to stop him doing anything else. The car's alarm blared and momentarily deafened Hoseok, worsening his headache. Of course, Namjoon hadn't been the only one drinking.

A few people stepped out of the bar near them and stared at the car. One of them pressed a button on their key and the siren ceased. They turned to Hoseok and Namjoon. They were the people that had insulted them before. One of them rolled their eyes and another prepared for a confrontation.

"What the fuck? Did you do this?" One shouted. Hoseok didn't say anything and prayed that Namjoon wouldn't either. Thankfully, he stayed quiet. "I knew you guys were petty, but isn't this a bit low even for you assholes?" Namjoon laughed again and Hoseok held his arms tighter.

"Low? I'm sorry, I don't know what that means," Namjoon taunted. A girl in the group scoffed.

"Oh yeah, I forgot, you're too thick to read books, of course you don't understand. You don't understand anything at all, do you, little baby?" Their group laughed and another spoke up,

"Just go back to your crib and see if you can find a bookcase wherever you live, okay?" Hoseok's blood was starting to boil. These people were obviously drunk and their insults weren't even good. But he was still angry.

"Sorry, our bookcases are just full of awards, we had to get rid of the books." The others were surprised that he had spoken and oohed in mockery.

"Oh, wow, a cliché flex? You really do just hide behind your trophies, don't you? What's wrong, can't think of a good enough comeback?" they mocked. Hoseok tilted his head.

"Our comeback got us 78,052,562 views in 24 hours without us trying. I think that's good enough. Have a nice night trying to be better than us," Hoseok tugged on Namjoon's arm, who flipped them off before following Hoseok back down the street. Hoseok honestly didn't like bragging about their achievements. It felt vain and cocky and he didn't really feel good about it, even if it did show some haters who were the fucking kings in this world. He rubbed his eyes in shame and tiredness and Namjoon fell into step beside him.

"Don't feel bad, Seokie, they deserved that. It's what you get if you insult my man." Hoseok looked up, confused.

"Your man? What are you on about?" he asked. Namjoon smiled at him and flung an arm around his shoulder.

"Sweetheart, anyone insults your honour, they deserve something a little stronger than a well-timed flex. I was seconds away from starting a fight to the death." Hoseok stopped them walking.

"Namjoon, you aren't making sense. Why are you acting like we're boyfriends or something?" Namjoon shrugged nonchalantly.

"Saves time. Quicker than waiting for you to realise that you like me and taking ages to ask me out." Hoseok frowned. While it was true that some strange feelings had been surfacing for his leader recently, there was no way that Namjoon could have known that. Hoseok had barely figured it out for himself and he was sure that he hadn't let anything slip.

"How did you…" Hoseok trailed off, lost in thought again. Namjoon grinned widely.

"Cool, I was right? I'm a genius." A lot was running through Hoseok's mind and he couldn't focus properly.

"Hold up, that was a guess?!" He had to admit that that was a hell of a good guess on Namjoon's part. He was annoyed at himself for admitting it way before he was ready, but it was out now and there was nothing he could do anymore. Hoseok sighed at himself.

"Oh, baby, don't feel bad. Like I said, it saves time." Namjoon moved closer and put his hand on Hoseok's cheek. Hoseok closed his eyes and shivers jolted up his spine at the feeling of Namjoon's breath on his skin. He felt Namjoon's lips brush against his and he instinctively threw his arms around Namjoon's neck to pull him closer and kiss him properly. Hoseok was a little bit drunk, needy and did not give a fuck that they were in public. He just wanted to keep going with whatever this was. He would figure it out in the morning.

Namjoon walked him back until he felt the wall of a building behind him. He leaned back and let Namjoon push him against it. He felt Namjoon lick against his lips and Hoseok opened his mouth slightly, allowing him access. Hands crept around the hem of his shirt and Hoseok pushed his fingers into Namjoon's soft hair. His mind was hazed and he couldn't think about anything except Namjoon and how good he felt.

Hoseok's phone buzzed in his back pocket, insistent and distracting. As much as Hoseok tried to ignore it, the sound and the feeling was getting annoying. He reluctantly pulled away from Namjoon's lips and looked at him apologetically before reaching for his phone. He stared at the screen which told him he had five texts from the others and two missed calls from Yoongi. As he was about to swipe them away, Yoongi called him again. Hoseok answered him.

"_Hoseok! Where are you? Are you okay?"_ Yoongi's voice was concerned yet relieved that Hoseok had answered. Hoseok tilted his head and he and Namjoon started walking again.

"Yeah, I'm fine. We're just walking back," he answered. There was a pause, presumably Yoongi relaying something to the others.

"_You're fine? You've been gone for half an hour! Just… is Namjoon okay?"_ Hoseok looked at Namjoon and nodded before he remembered he was on the phone.

"Oh, um, yeah, he's fine now. I'll tell you what happened when we get back okay?" Silence from the other end. "Yoongi, you okay?"

"_Did Namjoon tell you anything? Like, confess something? It's just there's something that he's needed to get off his chest for a while and I would rather he did that with a clear head,"_ Yoongi said quickly. Hoseok hummed. Namjoon had told Yoongi. That was kind of cute, in a way.

"Well… not exactly," Hoseok muttered, remembering how Namjoon had just told him that they were dating. And Hoseok had just gone along with that. He heard Yoongi sigh.

"_I swear to God if you made out in an alley,"_ he said in a low voice. Hoseok smiled,

"Um, I mean, I wouldn't call it an alley, exactly… more like, sort of, the street?" Yoongi chuckled quietly,

"_Oh my God, okay, get home safe. He is so going to regret that when he remembers. See you in a minute, Hobi."_

"You too, hyung." Hoseok hung up. He had barely noticed Namjoon was holding his hand. Like it was supposed to be there anyway; like it was natural. Hoseok looked over and saw Namjoon smiling at him cutely, dimples on show to the world. But the world couldn't touch him. He belonged to Hoseok.


	15. Chapter 15 - Jinkook

**School AU bc why not + some side Taemin at the end :)**

(Converse High)

Jungkook was hot. Like really hot. Hottest sixteen-year-old in the school. The moment he stepped through the door, he got stares and whispers from basically everyone. As a first grader, the interest didn't do his confidence much good, but he soon got used to it. He was one of the youngest in the high school but his looks and cute charm got him special privileges that other first graders would kill for, such as not being beaten up.

After a while, Jungkook started to own his notoriety. He hadn't really paid much attention to his appearance before, but now it was basically his identity. Through the first term, he stayed as just a cute, young kid. After the holidays, he turned into a full-blown, smoking hot, teenage heartthrob. And he loved it. Within two months, three girls and a guy admitted they had a crush on him. Jungkook sweetly let them down. So sweetly that no one even held any resentment. He was good friends with all four of them, despite having never even really met them before that.

So Jungkook had a reputation. He looked like a bad boy and acted like a sweetheart. He was basically perfect. Except he didn't like anyone. Almost everyone else was crushing on him and Jungkook didn't go out with anyone. There were rumours that he was secretly dating someone else, that he was asexual, that he had PTSD from a past relationship (he was sixteen though, like really?). All anyone knew was that Jungkook would befriend his pursuers but he didn't actually want to date anyone.

Or at least, that's what everyone thought. The truth was very different. The reason Jungkook didn't date anyone wasn't that he didn't like anyone. It was that the person he did like just happened to be one of the few people in the school that didn't like him back. And that was the most infuriating thing in the world. Because Kim Seokjin was beautiful. Stunning, even. Jungkook was 100% in love with him and Seokjin was 100% straight. Jungkook wanted to scream.

Walking down the corridors, Jungkook got smiles and winks from a lot of students. Seokjin didn't even glance at him. Jungkook prayed that someday, he would get noticed, if even for a second, by the third grader but that day was being incredibly elusive. That was, until, Taehyung found out.

"OH MY GOD YOU'VE GOT A CRU- " Taehyung had begun to yell before Jungkook slammed a hand over his mouth. Taehyung was the first boy to confess to him and they had been friends ever since. Jungkook knew that Taehyung wasn't totally over it, but they could still laugh about it together. Except now, Jungkook was not laughing.

"Do you want to get killed in your sleep?" he hissed. Taehyung shook his head and Jungkook took his hand away from the elder's mouth. Taehyung was grinning and Jungkook regretted staring too long across the canteen. "You have to swear you won't tell anyone, okay?" Taehyung shrugged,

"Sure. I mean I can't say I'm not offended that it isn't me but not everyone can have good taste, so…" Jungkook punched him in the arm. "Anyway, he goes to my photography class outside of school, if you want me to casually tell him how great you are." Jungkook stared at him.

"That is a horrible plan that I am definitely going along with. When's your photography class?" Taehyung checked his watch.

"Wednesdays, so I've got it today, actually. Wow, it's Wednesday? I had an assignment due today that I did _not_ start. Whoops." Jungkook laughed. Taehyung was a strange kid. The bell rang for the end of lunch and Jungkook left Taehyung to go to his lesson. In the hall, he passed Seokjin and very nearly tripped over. He managed to regain his composure before anyone saw. Well, anyone else. Seokjin made direct eye contact with him as he passed, leaving Jungkook to blush and stare after him. A few people in the corridor saw this, so he covered it up by winking at a girl in his class. He turned around and kept walking. That would take some explaining.

That evening, he received a text from Taehyung. It read,

**Tae:** _Ayo i have soms newwwwws._

Jungkook was about to ignore it before he remembered where he had been. He replied,

**JK 3:** _what_

**Tae:** _number 1, ur crush is fit as hell I didn't notice b4 lmao_

**JK 3:** _I knew that already_

**Tae:** _also he gay_

**JK 3:** _wHAT_

**Tae:** _yh and we're like friends now. U want his number?_

**JK 3:** _omg yes tae wtf of course gimme gimme_

**JK 3:** _please?_

**Tae:** _thats better_

Jungkook waited for what seemed like forever for Taehyung to send the number. When he got it, he immediately said bye to Taehyung and opened a new chat with Seokjin.

**Unknown:** _hey_

**Jin-hyung:** _Do I know u?_

**Unknown:** _i'm Jungkook in 1__st__ grade_

**Jin-hyung:** _Okay_

**Jin-hyung:** _Did u want smth?_

Jungkook had not thought this through. He literally had no excuse to be talking to him. Jungkook tried to think of any reason to be texting a random 3rd grader.

**Jungkook:** _are u any good at english? I need tutoring and I heard u could help_

**Jin-hyung:** _Who told u that?_

**Jungkook:** _idr. it might have been tae but im not sure_

**Jin-hyung:** _I have literally known taehyung for the space of an hour and a half and we mostly just talked abt squirrels_

**Jin-hyung:** _So idt it was him but I guess I could help with ur English_

**Jin-hyung:** _When r u free?_

Jungkook squealed. He had actually asked his crush to go out with him. It was a totally platonic study session but he was still proud of himself.

**Jungkook:** _tmrw any good?_

**Jin-hyung:** _Cool_

**Jin-hyung:** _Meet me in the library after skl_

**Jungkook:** _Kk :)_

The next day, Jungkook could not focus. He didn't concentrate on any of his lessons because he was so excited for after school. He was going to try and listen to his English teacher but he realised that the less he knew about the dumb language, the better. After his last lesson, a physics experiment that dragged, Jungkook practically sprinted to the library to meet Seokjin. He looked around and saw Seokjin sitting at a table making notes on something. Jungkook walked over to him, suddenly nervous.

"Seokjin-ssi?" he asked and Seokjin looked up, eyeing Jungkook curiously. "I'm Jungkook. You said you were going to help me study English?" Jungkook was being overly formal and polite even though Seokjin had definitely seen and heard him before. Seokjin gestured to the empty seat and Jungkook sat down.

"Well then, Jungkook, I suppose we should get started. What are you struggling with in particular? Or is it just all of English? It's a pretty fucked up language, if we're honest, like the grammar is totally backwards compared to Korean, its phonics and alphabet make no sense and just it breaks its own rules all of the time. I don't know why we have to learn it but here we are, I suppose." Jungkook looked at him and smiled slightly. Seokjin had sped up as he got further into his rant and it was honestly impressive.

"I mean, very true," Jungkook replied and Seokjin ran his hand through his hair. Jungkook tried not to let his mouth hang open.

"Sorry. I've got a similar speech about biology if you want to hear it." Jungkook laughed and got out his textbook. This was going to be a lot of fun.

As the weeks passed, he studied with Seokjin almost every other day. Although he didn't really need the tutoring in the first place, Jungkook found that English did make slightly more sense now that Seokjin had explained some key issues. As he skipped into the library for what had to be his sixth lesson, he found Seokjin at his usual desk, but without any of his resources out like he usually had. Jungkook sat down.

"Hey. Where's your stuff?" he asked.

"I don't have it," Seokjin replied bluntly. Jungkook was confused.

"Okay… why not? Don't we have a lesson today?"

"Jungkook, you don't need tutoring. You never did." Jungkook swallowed. He had been discovered, but how? He really didn't want to stop hanging out with Seokjin and he didn't want their time to end.

"What do you mean? I don't know how I ever survived English without you," Jungkook smiled. Seokjin placed a few sheets of paper on the table. Jungkook recognised it as one of his tests. One of the ones he got full marks on. One of the ones from the very first weeks of school. How the hell had Seokjin gotten hold of that?

"You gave it to Taehyung so he could revise," he answered without even hearing the question. "Why did you lie? I could have been tutoring someone else. Or doing homework." Jungkook lowered his head. He felt really guilty now. He had wasted Seokjin's time for a stupid crush. Because he was a little schoolboy who just wanted to be near the person he liked. Jungkook didn't think he had ever felt so stupid.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I just… I sort of really like you and this was an excuse to talk to you. It's idiotic, I know, I can't believe I only just realised that. I'm gonna go before I waste any more of your time. Thanks though, it really did help." Jungkook stood up and he knew his cheeks were burning red. He shut his bag and he was about to walk away when Seokjin muttered,

"I swear to God; I am going to kill Kim Taehyung." Jungkook looked back and saw that Seokjin was smiling in disbelief.

"What did he do?" Jungkook asked, wondering if he was overstepping his boundaries. Seokjin smiled and stood up.

"It's a nice day, Jungkook, let's go get ice cream," he said and Jungkook followed him blindly. He could have sworn that Seokjin was mad at him, but you don't get ice cream with people you're mad at. Once they were out of the building, Seokjin elaborated, "Taehyung told me you liked me, like, two weeks ago." Jungkook choked on his breath.

"He what?! Can I help you kill him, please? That boy needs to learn to keep his goddamn mouth shut."

"Careful, Jungkook, he's older than you," Seokjin berated. Jungkook remembered his place and kept quiet but stayed fuming at Taehyung's betrayal. "Anyway, he told me you liked me but I honestly didn't believe him. Because honestly? What would a smoking hot freshman like you want with some random senior?" Jungkook had to really focus in order to keep walking. Because otherwise, he would trip again. He would literally fall for Seokjin but probably less hard than he already had.

"Um…I-I'm sorry, what?" Jungkook stammered and Seokjin smiled. He ruffled Jungkook's hair and said,

"You're cute when you're flustered." Jungkook forgot how to talk. Someone spoke from somewhere near them,

"You're saying he isn't normally cute?" It was Taehyung, who had probably been following them for a while without Jungkook noticing. Seokjin just laughed.

"No, he's usually just fine as hell." Taehyung bit his lip.

"Damn straight."

Jungkook managed to find his voice from wherever it had run off to when his crush and best friend started complimenting him. All it could say, however, was,

"Tae!" Taehyung grinned,

"Jungkookie, I'm kidding! I'm on my way to a date literally right now. His name's Jimin and he's really cute so don't think I'm still hung up on you." They reached an intersection and Taehyung turned the other way, leaving Seokjin and Jungkook to walk to the ice cream place by themselves. Jungkook coughed, seeing if he could talk.

"So… do you want to, like, be my boyfriend, o-or whatever?" he hoped he came off more confident than he sounded, but that was pretty unlikely. Seokjin just held his hand as they walked down the street. He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and made Jungkook face him. He smiled.

"I'd like that." He leaned in and kissed Jungkook with the sweetest, softest lips in the universe. All Jungkook could think was that God must be so fucking proud of this creation.


	16. Chapter 16 - Sope Round 2

**Hello I'm back to being low key angsty but I swear it ends good :)**

(Paradise)

Once again, Yoongi was sitting outside Hoseok's door in the middle of the night. It was becoming a regular occurrence and Yoongi did not have any plans to stop. He would sit there until Hoseok stopped having that nightmare and there was no telling how long that would be.

It had started when Yoongi had gotten up at half two in the morning to get food and he heard soft sounds coming from Hoseok's room. He had walked over to investigate and put his ear to the door. He faintly heard Hoseok moaning and his first reaction was to quickly and awkwardly walk back to his room and pretend that he hadn't heard anything. But as he stayed there, he picked up on something else. Hoseok was talking in his sleep. It took Yoongi a minute to pick out the words and he soon wished he hadn't.

"Please, no, don't… I'll do anything, just please stop… it hurts, please, no…" So it was a nightmare. Yoongi didn't want to leave him anymore. He didn't know what was hurting him in the dream, but he just wanted it to stop. He gave silent support to Hoseok as if his dreams could pick up Yoongi's thoughts. If it got any worse, he would go in and wake him up, he thought. He listened more and froze in place. "Please, stop it… no, Yoongi, please it hurts… stop, please, please, no!"

He didn't hear any more from Hoseok that night and Yoongi assumed he had woken up. Yoongi didn't want to hear any more. He would never hurt Hoseok that much, so why was Hoseok dreaming about it? The thought of himself torturing Hoseok, even in a dream, made Yoongi want to cry. Which he did when he went back to his room. The next morning, he was as nice as possible to Hoseok, who was being normal. Either he didn't remember his dreams or he knew that Yoongi wouldn't really hurt him.

But when Yoongi went to just brush his arm, he flinched. An almost imperceptible movement to anyone else, but Yoongi saw it. And he felt it strike through his heart. Hoseok's dream really affected him. That night, Yoongi couldn't sleep. Eventually, he went back to Hoseok's room and listened through the door. Again, the same voice begging Yoongi to stop hurting him. It was soft enough that Jimin wouldn't hear him from the next room, but Yoongi could hear it from the other side of the door. He stayed until Hoseok woke up and then ran back to his room.

It became a nightly routine for Yoongi: sleep a bit, then go to Hoseok's room to see if he's dreaming. Sometimes, he didn't hear anything and just went back to bed. He definitely wasn't getting enough sleep over this. But he didn't care. He would just sit outside Hoseok's room until the pleading stopped. It wasn't doing him any good, but he couldn't help it. Almost every night, Hoseok would dream of Yoongi hurting him and Yoongi didn't know why. All he could do was try to be near Hoseok, try to comfort him through the nightmare.

One night, Yoongi got about two hours of sleep. Hoseok's nightmare had lasted about thirty minutes, which was longer than usual, and Yoongi stayed for all of it. But he was so tired for the whole day. Nobody really seemed to notice except for Jimin, who kept shooting him weird looks. That evening, Yoongi fell into bed at 8 pm, willing himself to go to sleep early so he could still be with Hoseok in the middle of the night.

At two in the morning, Yoongi woke up and left his room. It was becoming part of his body clock by this point. He crept down to Hoseok's room and, sure enough, moans of complaint and pain leaked through the door. Yoongi sat down against the door and listened. About five minutes later, Yoongi heard a door open. He looked to his left and saw Jimin leave his own room and walk further down the corridor to Yoongi's room. He didn't see Yoongi sitting outside. Jimin opened Yoongi's door and went in.

Yoongi sat up, confused. Jimin hadn't even knocked first. He was going to be confused when he saw no one in Yoongi's bed. After a moment, he stepped out again and looked Yoongi in the eye. He walked over to him and neither said a word. Jimin looked at Hoseok's door for a minute and then nudged Yoongi gently. Yoongi shuffled across to let Jimin sit down. He could probably hear it through his bedroom wall. He probably just didn't want Yoongi to feel alone.

"No, please, just stop it, it hurts so much… I can't, it hurts… why? Just why? I'll do whatever you want but please, Yoongi, stop, please…" Hoseok wept. Yoongi curled up next to Jimin and cried. Jimin stroked his hair comfortingly and held his hand.

"It's not your fault," he whispered. Yoongi wanted to object but didn't. He didn't want to talk; he just wanted Hoseok to stop having nightmares. He kept trying to telepathically tell Hoseok it was okay, that he wouldn't get hurt anymore. It wasn't working.

Taehyung emerged from his room, rubbing his eyes. He saw the pair on the floor and paused, puzzled. Jimin waved him over and Taehyung placed his ear to the wall. Yoongi watched Taehyung's gaze flick to him as they listened. Yoongi buried his head in his arms and sobbed silently. He felt Jimin tug his sleeve and he looked up. Jimin smiled at him sympathetically.

"It's okay," he mouthed. Yoongi didn't believe him and shook his head. Before Jimin could protest, they fell backwards. It took Yoongi a moment to realise that he was on the floor but quickly got to his feet. He stood next to Jimin in the doorway with Taehyung just behind them and tried to wipe away his tears. Hoseok had woken up without them noticing and opened the door. He was frowning at them, tired and confused. Jimin patted Yoongi on the shoulder before he and Taehyung sprinted back to their rooms.

Yoongi stood, still teary-eyed in the doorway to Hoseok's room. It was too late to run now and someone had to explain everything to Hoseok. Yoongi just hated the fact that it was him. Hoseok just stared after Taehyung and Jimin and back at Yoongi.

"O…kay," he whispered. There were still three people asleep after all. "I have questions. Come sit on my bed, come on." Hoseok wrapped an arm around Yoongi's shoulder and led him into the room. Yoongi sat down as Hoseok shut the door and turned on a light. He sat next to Yoongi and gave him a blanket. "Can you explain why you were crying in Jimin's arms outside my door flanked by Tae?"

Yoongi thought for a second but Hoseok continued, "And I'm 90% sure that Jimin is listening through his wall, so keep that in mind." A thud from the next room confirmed his suspicions. Yoongi smiled at this but then sighed,

"Okay, look, we were just… okay, this is gonna sound weird. We were listening to you sleep." Hoseok looked a little weirded out.

"You were listening to me sleep?" Yoongi nodded and scratched the back of his neck. In hindsight, that was a pretty weird thing to do. "And that made you cry because…?" Oh, right. Yoongi forgot that bit.

"Oh, yeah. Well, you've… been having nightmares, right?" Hoseok nodded slowly, still piecing things together. "Did you know you cry out in your sleep?" Hoseok froze and Yoongi didn't wait for him to reply. "Because we could hear you through the door but I've been listening to you for a while. That's why I've been so tired; because I've been waking up to make sure you were okay. And then I haven't been sleeping because you keep telling me to stop hurting you even though I would never hurt you. Hence the crying."

Hoseok looked down and thought about this. He obviously felt guilty and Yoongi regretted saying anything at all. Although, in hindsight, what else could he have done? Hoseok ran a hand through his hair.

"Um… okay. I'm sorry. I-it's just a nightmare. I hate it and I hate going to sleep now. Sometimes I don't remember having it and I haven't slept a few times to try and get rid of it. But it doesn't work and I keep coming back to you killing me slowly until I wake up. I keep trying to ignore it but that's honestly really hard. I'm really sorry." Yoongi shrugged. It wasn't Hoseok's fault; it was his subconscious being weird. Something appeared in Yoongi's mind and he didn't have time to think about it properly before saying,

"Well… what if I slept here? I'd be able to wake you up easily and maybe it would make you feel better if you knew I wasn't actually going to hurt you? Because honestly, Hobi, I can't stand the thought of you being tortured by anyone and the fact that it's me makes it so much worse." He kind of lost faith in his idea and expected Hoseok to just ignore it. Instead, Hoseok replied,

"I mean, I wouldn't be against you sleeping here… it might work." Yoongi was surprised.

"R-really? Okay, sure, I'm up for that, i-if it would help." Hoseok smiled. They shuffled awkwardly under the covers and turned off the light. "Goodnight, Hobi," whispered Yoongi.

"Goodnight, hyung," Hoseok whispered back. Yoongi closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep. For about an hour. For some reason, he just couldn't fall asleep and it was annoying him. Maybe it was the unfamiliar bed or the closeness to another person. Just before he could roll over for the millionth time, he heard Hoseok whimper,

"Yoongi…" Suddenly, sleep didn't seem so important. Yoongi turned his full attention to Hoseok. Maybe this little arrangement didn't work and Hoseok's nightmare would occur every time. "Yoongi, please." Yoongi was about to wake Hoseok up when he felt a hand close around his. "I need you, stay with me…" So this wasn't the nightmare. It wasn't going to be a nightmare at all if Yoongi had anything to do with it. He held Hoseok's hand and kissed him on the forehead.

"Always."


	17. Chapter 17 - Jinmin

**This is what it is, and what it is is dark and sad but I'm lowkey proud. WARNING: Contains strong reference to drug addiction and abuse.**

(Don't Leave Me)

No one could find Seokjin. Dinner was on the table and everyone was hungry, but it seemed rude to start without him. So they called for him and sat down to eat. But Seokjin didn't come. Curious, they went to his room, thinking he might be asleep. When they opened the door, they found the room to be dark and empty They checked the floor and the bed but there was still no sign of their eldest.

Taehyung decided to call his phone. He put it on speaker and everyone listened avidly. It rang eleven times and then went to voicemail. They tried again and got the same result. So he hadn't turned his phone off or declined their calls. He had just ignored his phone.

"Did he say he was going anywhere?" asked Namjoon, but no one remembered anything. They searched in everyone else's rooms because he might just be hiding or playing a joke. Again, their searches were to no avail. It was at this stage that they began to seriously worry. Jimin would usually be up for a game like this, but it was quickly becoming far less of a game. He paced, stressed, as they all tried to remember the last time they had seen him.

Hoseok and Taehyung had been with him in the morning for breakfast, he had played a game with Jungkook and Jimin after that and he had talked to Yoongi and Namjoon at some point in the early afternoon. But after that, no one had heard a word from him. At some point during their speculations, Jungkook's phone buzzed. He took it out, looking at the message, and chuckled slightly.

"Oh, for God's sake… He said 'find me' in English." Jimin's head snapped up. He wanted to break Jungkook's neck for finding this funny; this was so far from laughable. The others sighed at what they assumed was cheek from Seokjin but Jimin did not join them. He was trying to figure out the message.

"Upper case or lower case?" he asked quietly. Everyone looked at him curiously. Jungkook laughed again and Jimin was seriously considering taking a knife to that boy.

"Hyung, how is that relevant…"

"I asked you a fucking question, Jungkook, answer me!" Jimin suddenly shouted. Jungkook recoiled in fear and shock as the others immediately went to protect him.

"Jimin-ah, calm down, there's no need to swear. Try again, calmly," Namjoon soothed. Jimin clenched his fists and took a deep breath.

"The message. Was it upper case or lower case?" he asked again. Jungkook checked his phone.

"Uh… all lower case." Jimin let out a shaky breath.

"Even the first letter?"

"Yeah. Can I ask why this matters?" Jungkook sounded just as confused as the others looked but Jimin didn't care. He stormed to the door and just managed to grab his jacket before whirling out of the dorm. He didn't bother to shut it, knowing the others would be following. Right now, he needed to figure out if he should tell them or not. Because Seokjin needed finding and Jimin was the only one who knew why.

He knew the others would ask relentlessly and he didn't know whether he could tell them anything. But he needed to be responsible here. He just wasn't sure if he was ready for that. It took longer than he expected for them to catch up. He was almost out of the lobby before he found himself being flanked by Taehyung, Yoongi and Jungkook. Hoseok and Namjoon had presumably stayed at the dorm.

"Jimin, what's going on?" Yoongi asked. Jimin sighed, not bothering to try and explain anything serious just yet.

"Taehyung was the last person to contact him, yet he texted Jungkook. It takes extra to decapitalise the first letter since English is such a dumb language. And, he wrote it in English. He was letting me know he had some coherency left in him. 'find me' wasn't playful. It was desperate. That's what we agreed." Jimin knew he had probably created more questions than he had answered but he was trying to hold himself back from becoming an emotional wreck. Seokjin had been lost and he needed to be found right now.

"What do you mean you 'agreed'?" Taehyung questioned.

"I-I…" Jimin didn't want to say. But he knew he had to say. They would find out in a minute anyway and he couldn't risk them ruining everything. He took a breath to dispel the forming tears and felt Jungkook's hand lightly grip his. Jimin locked their fingers out of nerves and continued, still leading them through the night-time streets.

"Seokjin and I had… some problems in the past. Bad problems. We found each other at our worst and swore never to go back. For each other. For BTS. We agreed that if we slipped back, we would send signals to someone, anyone, and the other would find them. He's been gone for a while. I have no idea if we're too late. I haven't prayed in a while but I'm pretty fucking close to dropping to my knees right now. We have to find him. We have to. He's in trouble and we have to find him. We have to find him." The tears spilled out of Jimin's eyes and he choked on his words.

He felt Yoongi's hand gently brush away his tears but they were quickly replaced by more. Taehyung rubbed his back and they kept walking.

"We'll find him. Where is he?" Jungkook asked.

"I still know the way…" mumbled Jimin, not answering the question. "Jungkook, give me your phone." Jungkook handed it over without hesitation and let go of Jimin's hand so he could type.

**Jungkook: **_I'm coming baby. You're safe. Stay there and I'll find you. ~Jimin_

He handed Jungkook his phone back and turned another corner into a street that he recognised so unfortunately. It was dirty and smelled horrible and was somehow darker than its surroundings. He felt the other three tense up beside him and pretended that he wasn't terrified.

"Jimin, what is this place?" Taehyung whispered as they stopped outside the worst building Jimin knew existed. He turned back to the three beautiful idols standing before him and more tears fell at the feeling that they did not belong here. He reached into his pocket.

"You three are staying out here and that's that. It's safer if I go in by myself or you'll get dragged into this mess and it won't end well." He pulled his knife out of his pocket and held it out to Yoongi. "Hyung… protect them. Please," he blinked away tears. Yoongi nodded slightly and took the knife.

"Jimin-ssi please stay safe," Jungkook told him, his voice low and sounding far more mature than Jimin ever expected of him. Jimin nodded and turned away, heading into the building and not trusting himself to look back.

The building was hideously abandoned. Stairs splintering, wallpaper peeling, floor tiles cracking. And the people. A few of them milling around on the ground floor looking out of their heads. There were some sitting on the floor. Jimin scanned each and every one of them, hood pulled safely over his head as he recognised one or two. Syringes littered the space around them.

Seokjin wasn't on the ground floor. Jimin went up the stairs, terrifyingly aware of the space behind his back. The second-floor hallway was empty. Jimin walked down the hall and then remembered where Seokjin would be. Where he met him the first time. Jimin turned around and ran up two more flights of stairs, entering the room that he had spent far too long lying in.

He rushed into the room and saw two figures slouched against different walls. He ran to Seokjin and slid next to him. His arm was exposed and punctured. His face was pale and sunken. His eyes were closed but they were red and swollen from crying and his mouth was open in a perpetually silent moan. Jimin cried harder at the sight of him. He shook his shoulder gently, hoping against hope that he would wake up.

Seokjin's eyes flickered slightly and Jimin shook harder until they opened. He looked at Jimin and smiled weakly.

"You found me…" he croaked and Jimin smiled through his tears.

"Yeah. I found you, baby. Please, let's leave. Please, Seokjin, let's go." He wrapped his arm around Seokjin's torso and slowly, ever so slowly, helped him to his feet. He leaned heavily on Jimin, who didn't care one bit. The other figure stirred on the floor.

"He'll be back." The voice cut through the air and Jimin glared at the owner.

"He's never coming back here again. Not on my watch." Jimin helped Seokjin walk out of the room and step down three flights of stairs. It took a while, but Jimin stayed patient. Eventually, they made it to the front door. He opened it and stepped out of the building that had haunted him for so long. Taehyung, Jungkook and Yoongi were still on guard outside. Yoongi was flipping the knife in his hands, making the other two more comfortable that he knew how to use it. They looked up.

"Help," Jimin asked, beginning to struggle under the weight. Taehyung and Jungkook ran towards him and helped support him. Yoongi stayed, which was probably smart, given that he was holding a weapon. Taehyung and Jungkook stood either side of Seokjin, his arms around their shoulders and taking the weight off Jimin. He ran to Yoongi and took his knife back, burying it deep back in his pocket. He looked back to Seokjin, who was looking a little bit more conscious.

"Jimin…" he moaned and Jimin walked back to him, Taehyung and Jungkook walking him forwards slightly. Jimin made a mental note to thank them for everything later. He smiled up at Seokjin, tears of joy flowing down his face that he was safe. He kissed him softly, not caring that the other three were watching. He pulled back and hugged him tightly around his waist, not caring that he couldn't be hugged back.

"Jimin," Yoongi called, making Jimin let go. He had a phone in his hand. "It's Namjoon. He wants to know what's going on. What do I tell him?" Jimin just took the phone off him.

"There was a…" he cleared his throat, trying to stop his voice from cracking. He signalled to the others to start them walking back to the apartment. "There was an incident. I swear I'll explain it later but for now, he's safe and we need to just be thankful for that. I need you to get an ice pack, a blanket, some bandages just in case he scratches, and hot chocolate. Put it in his room. We'll be back in ten. Prepare for the worst," he added as an afterthought and hung up without another word. He gave Yoongi his phone back.

The rest of the walk back, he walked beside Jungkook and held Seokjin's hand. When they finally reached the lobby, they took the elevator up to the apartment. Yoongi opened the door to reveal a very worried Namjoon and a pacing Hoseok. They looked up, relieved, but they froze when they saw Seokjin.

"Jesus Christ," Hoseok whispered.

"I-I got everything you asked for," Namjoon stuttered. "Please tell me he's okay…" Jimin nodded,

"Yeah, I think so. Taehyung, Jungkook, could you lie him down in his room, please? I… I need a minute and then I'll check on him, okay?" The two nodded at the request and slowly made their way to his room and stayed there for a minute. When they came back, they were crying.

"Please, Jimin, what's going on?" Taehyung asked through tears. Jimin slumped down in a chair and sobbed heavily. The others let him. After an unidentifiable period of time, Jimin raised his head and dried his eyes. He took a few deep breaths to calm his aching heart.

"I-I don't know why he relapsed. We promised not to…" He saw the looks he got from the others and decided to start from the beginning.

"A while ago, I had a drug problem. A bad one that got way out of hand. It started a bit before we debuted but carried on for a long time after. I spent most of my time and money in that building under the guise that I was practising. One day, I ran into Seokjin. I thought he was there to get me and tell me off and I was terrified that he would tell everyone and get me kicked out. But… he had marks on his arms as I did. I realised he wasn't there to get me.

I confronted him after we calmed down because I knew I had to. We just talked and cried for a long time. We had only known each other for about six months but we made a deal to stop everything. If we needed support, we would turn to each other. If we couldn't handle it, we swore we'd tell so we wouldn't get lost again. We promised. He kept that promise for six years and he broke it. I just thank God he's okay."

The room was silent. Dead silent. For a while. Until Yoongi spoke.

"Can I ask something?" Jimin nodded. "You kissed." That was not a question but Jimin couldn't give less of a fuck. He smiled and the smile broke into a laugh.

"He saved me more times than I can count. We relied on each other completely for a full year while we recovered. I don't remember when we stopped being friends, but it just happened. We haven't really acknowledged it before and we don't consider ourselves a thing. We're just sort of silently dating. Like we were silently struggling before. The easiest way to break an addiction is to replace it with another. Mine just happened to be him and his just happened to be me."

Again, the room fell into silence.

"There are a lot of emotions right now and I don't know which one to focus on," Hoseok said.

"Agreed," concurred Jungkook. Jimin smiled. He couldn't ask for better friends than the five in front of him.

"You wanna go check on him?" Namjoon asked and Jimin nodded. He got up, went to Seokjin's room and shut the door behind him. Seokjin jumped at the sound and Jimin shushed him, kneeling next to the bed.

"It's okay, I'm here," he whispered.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," mumbled Seokjin and Jimin smiled.

"It's okay, baby, you can tell me later. Does your arm hurt?" Seokjin shook his head. _Of course it doesn't, he's basically on morphine,_ Jimin scolded himself. Even so, he placed the ice pack over the punctures and wrapped the bandage around it to stop him from scratching it in his sleep. He handed him the hot chocolate, which would be a good temperature to drink by this point. "Drink. It'll help for when you crash." Seokjin sat up and took a sip. He looked at Jimin carefully.

"Y-you're staying with me tonight, right?" Seokjin asked. Jimin beamed.

"Of course. I'm never losing you again."


	18. Chapter 18 - Taekook Round 2

**I swear there's a happy ending, just stick with it :) also, full disclosure, 'tokki' means 'rabbit' and I am low key in love with that**

(Let Me Know)

Jungkook sat back down opposite Jimin and sipped his hot chocolate. They had planned on going to the park or staying outside, but the rain had other ideas, forcing them to take shelter in a coffee shop. It was relatively empty, but filling up slowly due to the number of people taking refuge from the weather. Jimin was picking at the cake in front of him, disappointed that their day out had been spoiled.

"I hate rain. It's wet and annoying," he pouted, looking sadly out of the window at the grey streets. Jungkook laughed.

"It's rain, Jimin, of course it's wet. Besides, I like the rain," he replied and Jimin looked at him as if he'd said that he liked pineapple on pizza.

"Rain is so miserable! Look at it out there being all sad and wet and stupid." Jimin glared at the downpour and took another bite of his cake.

"Seriously, what have you got against rain being wet?"

"It ruined my hair!" Jimin slouched back in his seat and ruffled his hair, making Jungkook smile. He liked being friends with Jimin. He was funny. Jungkook hadn't had the best month and Jimin had always been there to make sure he was okay. They were best friends since high school and Jungkook loved him to death, despite the fact that they disagreed on quite a few things, namely cereal in the microwave, pineapple on pizza and, of course, the rain.

Jungkook watched the people outside. There were kids splashing in the puddles, people running for shelter together, couples sharing umbrellas. As much as he wished he didn't, Jungkook wanted that. He missed that. Sure he had Jimin to hide out with, but there was someone else he missed. Someone he could run in the rain with and eat Hawaiian pizza with. Jungkook shook his head to clear his thoughts. They were gone. He couldn't _still_ be thinking of them like that. He brought himself back to reality where Jimin was talking.

"…and sometimes it doesn't feel like… You have not been listening to me at all have you?" he protested. Jungkook looked up.

"That really depends on when you started talking," he answered. Jimin rolled his eyes and started again. It was a complaint about his boss being annoying again and Jungkook listened and laughed when Jimin told a joke. Leave it to Jimin to take his mind of worse things. The downpour got heavier and the streets cleared as everyone went inside somewhere. Jungkook and Jimin stayed just chatting like usual as a few more people ran in, looking very wet. Jungkook felt sorry for them.

"See?" Jimin pointed out. "Rain is annoying." Jungkook shrugged, holding his ground.

"At least they were wrapped up. I couldn't imagine being out there without a coat," he grimaced and took another sip of his drink, reminding himself that he was warm. Jimin gestured out of the window.

"Oh, you mean like that guy?" Jungkook looked to see someone just in a white t-shirt about to jog across the road, presumably to shelter in the coffee shop. Jungkook watched him cross the street and then choked on his drink. There was no way this was happening.

"Fuck, Jimin, you've got to hide me. I _cannot_ see him again, not now," he stared at the table and prayed that maybe the guy was going somewhere else. Maybe just for a run. In the pouring rain. Jimin was confused and looked outside again.

"Why, who…?" he trailed off as he saw. "Oh." Jungkook didn't look up when he heard the door open. He still didn't look up when he heard the painfully familiar voice sigh quietly in complaint. Because he knew who it was. And he didn't ever want Kim Taehyung to see him ever again.

It was a long, drawn-out breakup and it was a safe assumption that Jungkook was not over it. It had been a month since they had seen each other at all and Jungkook was glad. They had agreed after a while that they just couldn't work out. They weren't for each other and that was that. There was no point trying to make it work if neither of them were happy. So they had broken up. And since then, Jungkook had been able to think about no one else. Everything reminded him of Taehyung and he wondered if he had made a mistake.

No. Taehyung had left because they wouldn't work out. There was no chance he would want Jungkook back. Even if that's all Jungkook wanted at this stage. He couldn't face this. He couldn't face the man who broke his heart. So Jungkook stayed quiet and tried to attract as little attention as possible. In his peripheral vision, he could see Taehyung take a seat at one of the empty tables.

"That's definitely Taehyung, right?" Jimin asked in a lowered voice. Jungkook nodded. He had never felt so suppressed, so controlled, and Taehyung wasn't even doing anything. He didn't even know Jungkook was there and yet Jungkook couldn't move. He was frozen. "Can I go punch him?" It was a joke but Jungkook didn't laugh. He didn't think he could. The breakup had been mutual, but Jungkook was ashamed to admit that he loved Taehyung. After a thousand fights, a breakup and a month away from him, he still loved him.

"Jimin, he cannot know I'm here. I really can't see him right now," Jungkook said quietly. He saw Jimin nod. After a minute of just staring at the table and not saying a word, he risked a glance at Taehyung. Unfortunately, that happened to be the exact moment that Taehyung's gaze found him. Jungkook suddenly couldn't look away; Taehyung's eyes were like a prison, locking him in and not letting him move. It felt like forever, being examined, penetrated by his stare.

Taehyung moved his focus to the window and Jungkook relaxed slightly. There were a lot of feelings inside him at this moment in time and he didn't know what to do with them. He knew he had turned red and he hated himself for being so affected by Taehyung. He hated himself for letting Taehyung know how much power he had over him still.

Taehyung stood up and walked towards the door. It was still raining heavily and Taehyung wasn't even dry yet. Jungkook watched him and wondered if he would actually leave. He did. Without thinking too much, Jungkook stood up, swept up his jacket from the back of his chair and muttered,

"I'll be right back," before running out of the door into the street. It was really raining and Jungkook shivered immediately. Of course, he had his jacket, but he wouldn't put it on. It wasn't for him. "Taehyung!" he yelled. He watched as Taehyung looked back but kept walking. Jungkook rolled his eyes before running after him. When he caught up, he put a hand on Taehyung's shoulder and said, "For God's sake, you're going to get pneumonia. Take my jacket." Taehyung just stared at it.

"No. I don't want your stuff," he replied bluntly and Jungkook felt a strange pang of hurt cross through his heart.

"Taehyung, you will literally freeze, otherwise. Just take it and stop being so immature," Jungkook blurted out. He blinked away the water in his eyes and pretended to himself it was rain.

"Out of the two of us, I'm really not the immature one." Jungkook just stared.

"I'm sorry? You're the one being stubborn and literally running away from your problems!" Taehyung scoffed,

"You can't act like you didn't want me to leave. And besides, you're still just a kid. Go back to your hot chocolate and your best friend and just… leave me alone." He shrugged off Jungkook's hand but Jungkook caught him by the wrist before he could walk away again. Because he was surprised that Taehyung remembered he hated coffee. It was a small thing but Taehyung still remembered. It gave Jungkook the smallest glimmer of hope that he might be able to convince him to stay.

"Jungkook, what do you want from me? We're over, you know this. Why are you still literally holding on to me?" Taehyung asked and Jungkook closed his eyes. He didn't know what he was about to say but he had a feeling that once he started talking, he would not stop. There was so much that he wanted to say and he wasn't sure he had the time or vocabulary to say it. He opened his eyes and looked back at Taehyung, still being drenched by the rain.

"Because I still love you. For God's sake, I wish that wasn't true as much as you do, but I can't fucking help it. I know we fought a lot and we really didn't work out. We crashed and there wasn't enough fire left to let us burn. But somehow, I love you. I miss everything about you and I can't help wondering how you're living like everything's fine. Because in my world, everything's just dull; it's boring without you. You were my life for four months and I want that back. It was the best four months of my life and I need you back. I know you won't take me because you don't love me and we broke up for a reason and I can't help thinking it was me. But I… I just miss you. Even if you're fine without me, I can't live without you. And I hate that."

The drops streaming down his face were definitely not raindrops and he could tell that Taehyung knew that. He wiped his reddened eyed and looked away. He let go of Taehyung's wrist and started to walk back to the coffee shop.

"Jungkook…" a soft voice called after him. He turned around and saw Taehyung looking at him. Jungkook hadn't noticed how red his eyes were. Taehyung walked forward a few steps and closed the distance between them. Before Jungkook knew it, his hand was interlocked with Taehyung's. His eyes were soft this time, rather than piercing.

Jungkook couldn't help himself. He threw his hands around Taehyung's neck and hugged him close. He felt Taehyung's arms wrap around his waist and hold him just as tight. He had missed this. He needed to feel Taehyung again, needed the comfort he brought. Even if they fought a lot, he was still warm and loving and calming. He felt Taehyung hum in his ear,

"Tokki…" Jungkook laughed through his tears and pulled back slightly to look at Taehyung. He was crying and smiling just the same. "I missed you." He kissed Jungkook softly as a silent vow to never let him go again.

**This is my last update probably for a while bc I've got exams in like two weeks but then after that, it's just chill time and half term when I'll probably update some other stuff :) Also I'm going to see BTS at Wembley in June and I'm SO HYPED ALREADY. Anyway, cya 3**


	19. Chapter 19 - Taemin Round 2

**Whenever I want pancakes, I write them in somewhere. Anyway, I'm an iGOT7 and sort of an EXO-L as well so #StopTheFandomWars**

(Go Go)

"Wow."

Someone took off his blindfold and Jimin could see where they had taken him. It was amazing. It was a huge modern, elaborately decorated room with a water feature and a crystal staircase. It looked like something straight out of Stark Tower. The windows covered almost the entirety of one wall and looked out onto the glittering city far below them. There was a shining bar and white leather couches dotted around the room. Jimin was awe-struck.

"You did all this…for me?" he asked incredulously. His friends laughed.

"Of course, you idiot! Happy birthday, Jiminie!" Namjoon smiled. Seokjin threw a bag at him and Jimin caught it.

"Go into that room and put this on. There's some makeup in there too because you're gonna have to look good for this party." Jimin giggled. He was so excited and he ran into the room behind him. This was more than anyone had done for him. He had no idea who else was coming, but the security out front looked pretty extensive, although that might just have been for them.

He looked through the bag and got out the outfit they had prepared for him. He smiled. It was a low cut black silk shirt, leather pants and a sparkling, silver, sequined jacket. Leave it to his friends to make him look as extra as possible. He threw on the clothes, carefully styled his hair, applied a bit of makeup and some dark eyeliner and looked in the mirror. He had to admit, he looked pretty damn good. Usually, he would steer clear of vain thoughts like that, but fuck it, it was his birthday, he could think what he wanted. Deciding to use that as his mantra for the night, he stepped back outside.

Music was playing and there were already about fifteen more people in the room. He recognised them as fellow idols or models or actors. He walked over to his friends.

"Damn, Jimin! You look hella good!" Jungkook exclaimed. Jimin blushed and the others nodded their agreement.

"Thanks, guys. Can I ask about the guest list for this party?"

"We invited everyone," Taehyung stated. Jimin tilted his head. "Everyone we could. This is the hottest A-list party in Korea right now. So, I mean, enjoy it."

Jimin walked over to a few guests and said hi. They wished him a happy birthday and he went to get a drink from the bar. More celebrities had milled in and the room was getting louder. Hoseok nodded to Yoongi, who disappeared. A shout went up from Jungkook as he saw Yugyeom walk in the door, along with half of GOT7. Jimin smiled and went to greet them. Jaebum apologised that the others were running late and Jackson immediately went to the bar with Jungkook and Yugyeom.

Jimin mingled amongst the famous guests for a while. He didn't even know a lot of them that well and he assumed they had been invited purely to up the status of the party. Feedback glared from a microphone somewhere and everyone cringed at the noise. Yoongi's voice came through the speaker.

"Sorry, sorry. Anyway, I think most of everyone's here now, so let's get this party started!" A cheer went up. There were no fewer than fifty people in the room and Jimin would probably not talk to most of them. "Raise your hand if you're a singer." A lot of people raised their hands. "Good, then this should sound decent for once. On the count of three, happy birthday to our Jiminie here. One, two, three!" The room burst into song. Jimin grinned and as the final harmony rang, he raised his glass and downed the rest of his drink. People laughed.

"Thank you! It's my birthday so everyone, have fun! Have we got some music?" he looked up at where he saw Yoongi stationed and knew that he probably wouldn't leave for the rest of the night. Yoongi smiled and hit a button. Upbeat music began to play and coloured lights streamed to the floor, giving the room a more party atmosphere, rather than a formal gathering.

The party was amazing. Jimin drank a lot and talked and laughed with the other guests. He danced with his own members and other bands, dancers and singers. At some point, he had an acrobatics competition with Mark from GOT7 and came very close to losing. Yeah, Mark was good. He wasn't as good as Jimin. Before Jimin could scold himself for thinking that, he remembered his motto for the night. You can think whatever you want.

Jungkook, Yugyeom and Hoseok joined them and Baekhyun and Jongin from EXO appeared from somewhere. Eventually, it turned into a dance off between BTS, GOT7 and EXO. Yoongi played a song from each group and the others would have to dance it. Jimin, Jungkook and Hoseok danced to Hard Carry (GOT7), EXO danced to Boy in Luv (BTS) and GOT7 danced to Monster (EXO). They gained the audience of everyone in the room and there was a final dance-off between Jimin, Jongin and Mark at the end to determine the winner.

Everyone agreed it was Jimin, who was a little too drunk to think that it was probably because of his birthday. He went back to the bar where Namjoon and Jackson were having a drinking competition. He ordered another drink, not really caring what it was and looked around at the party. Everyone was famous and rich and drunk and dancing to Danger and Jimin was just happy. Taehyung sat down next to him.

"Yes, Jimin! I wish I could dance that well whilst drunk." Jimin smirked.

"You can and will. Let's go!" he didn't wait for his drink and dragged Taehyung onto the floor instead. The thing about a party full of idols is that to every song that plays, at least one person knows the choreography. That just makes it fun. Power by EXO played and Jimin and Taehyung danced as much as they could remember, freestyling the parts they didn't. When the song ended, they were dying of laughter at each other and stumbled back to the bar.

Jimin took his drink and Taehyung took about four consecutive shots. Jimin downed the rest of his drink in response. They locked eyes and ordered several more rounds of shots. Jimin was slowly losing the ability to think. He watched Taehyung throw back another shot and could not look away. Because he had never looked more attractive. His black hair damp and dishevelled, his jacket half off his shoulders, exposing some of his skin, eyeliner beautifully accentuating the deep brown in his eyes.

He took one more shot and then grabbed Taehyung's hand, remembering that he was allowed to think what he liked. And right now, he wanted to think about Taehyung. There were a few people on the stairs, but no one actually upstairs except for Yoongi, who was wearing headphones. So that's where he went. Once they were safely upstairs where no one was watching, Jimin pulled Taehyung close. He could smell the spirits on both of their breaths but he couldn't care less.

Jimin pulled Taehyung by the front of his shirt and kissed him. It was messy but heated and intense. Taehyung's tongue slipped into Jimin's mouth and Jimin welcomed it. His hands found Taehyung's hair and buried themselves in the black, soft locks. Taehyung's fingers slipped underneath Jimin's shirt and ran across his waist and up his back. Taehyung stepped back and sat on the couch behind him, pulling Jimin down to straddle his lap.

They broke apart for a minute to just look at each other, breathing heavily. Holy hell, Taehyung was beautiful. Jimin was proud of himself for not kissing him sooner. Right now, however, that was all he wanted to do. He dived back at Taehyung's lips and bit them slightly, drawing a moan from the younger that he felt rather than heard. Taehyung's hands moved further up Jimin's back and Jimin shivered when he felt nails scratch at his skin. He did not want to let this go.

Suddenly, Taehyung retracted his hands and his lips and pushed Jimin off him. Jimin stumbled away and watched Taehyung walk down the stairs without a second glance. Jimin blinked. He didn't know what had happened but he guessed that was over. He shrugged, a little annoyed and sad at the loss, but he straightened his clothes, fixed his hair and skipped downstairs. He didn't see Taehyung for the rest of the night after that. He managed to have fun without him; he danced with Hoseok and drank with Seokjin and probably passed out drunk on one of the couches.

When he woke up, he was in his bed with a searing headache. He sat up slowly and shut his eyes against the light. He reached for the water that he knew would be on his bedside table and drank, the cool liquid soothing his throat that had been burnt by the alcohol. It took him a while to realise that Seokjin was standing in his doorway smiling at him.

"Wow. Did you have a good birthday?" he asked and Jimin smiled, remembering bits and pieces of the dance off.

"Yeah. That was awesome! We're so doing that again for your birthday." Seokjin laughed.

"Fine, but you're chipping in this time. That was expensive as hell," he said and left the room. Jimin felt a little guilty but ultimately had no regrets. That was one of the best nights of his life, even if he didn't remember all of it. A soft knock on the door got his attention. He told them to come in and Yoongi shut the door behind him. He sat down on Jimin's bed and ran a hand through his hair.

"You need to talk to Taehyung," he stated bluntly. Jimin frowned,

"Why? Did something happen?" Yoongi stared at him.

"Yes. Obvio- do you not remember that?" he asked incredulously. Jimin thought back but drew a blank.

"No. Seriously, what happened?" Yoongi sighed,

"He's upset and he won't talk. I think I'm the only one who's noticed because he hasn't left his room but you need to talk to him as soon as possible. He left early last night without saying anything. You're seriously telling me you don't remember why?" Jimin shook his head and Yoongi continued,

"I watched it from the balcony-upstairs-bit. You danced together for a bit and then took like five shots each. You grabbed Taehyung's hand and dragged him up the stairs to where I was, but there was no one else. No one else was even watching. Then you fully made out for like two songs and I put them loud. In the end, Taehyung pushed you away and left. You just acted like nothing happened and went back to dancing. Do you remember any of that?"

Jimin was frozen. What the hell had he done? He closed his eyes and willed himself to remember. When he remembered the taste of Taehyung's lips, the feeling of his tongue, the sound of his moan, he opened his eyes.

"I need to talk to Taehyung." Yoongi signalled to the door and Jimin got up and left. He walked to Taehyung's room and didn't knock. He didn't expect an answer. He looked in to see Taehyung lying on his bed, facing away from the door. Jimin went over and sat down. Taehyung didn't stir.

"Tae, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have, that was so wrong and I'm sorry." He didn't know if Taehyung was awake or not but he still wanted to apologise.

"I didn't want to go," Taehyung said quietly. "I didn't want to leave like that but I had to. Of course I did. I couldn't stay letting myself pretend that you liked me back. So I left. Do you understand why I still can't talk to you?"

"No," Jimin answered. Taehyung sat up and looked at Jimin with red eyes that might have been from fatigue. Probably not, though. "Taehyung, that was 100% the best kiss I've ever had in my life. I don't care that I was drunk. I can still feel you on me and I don't want to let that go." Taehyung rolled his eyes.

"Jimin we were both incredibly drunk. Stop pretending that you remember it because if you think I'm a good kisser, you're clearly lying." Jimin tilted his head.

"You're right. Maybe you need to remind me."

"Are you trying to kill me?"

"Yes." Jimin leaned in and pressed his lips quickly to Taehyung's. The kiss was gentler and Jimin could feel Taehyung's soft lips against his and he felt complete again. Taehyung's hand pushed on the back of Jimin's neck and made him go deeper.

"Hey, I said talk, not kiss," Yoongi smirked from the doorway, forcing the two away from each other, blushing furiously. "Nah, it's fine. Do what you want, but there's breakfast in the kitchen if you want it." Yoongi left and Jimin looked at Taehyung. They shrugged and went to get breakfast. When they walked out into the main room, Hoseok was talking to Mark and Jongin on the couch. That wasn't supposed to happen. It seemed that Jimin just hadn't noticed them before.

"Hey, guys. Nice to see you, but how are you allowed to be here?" Taehyung asked. Hoseok shrugged.

"We did a trade. Namjoon and Jungkook went to JYP so we got Mark. We thought you went back to SM with Junmyeon so we got Jongin. The other two should be back soon but it seemed rude to let this lot leave without breakfast so we made pancakes." Jongin held up his plate. Jimin and Taehyung went to get pancakes from Seokjin. They sat down and the door opened.

"Wait, they get pancakes? They didn't give us pancakes! Seokjin-hyung, can I have pancakes? Don't give them any, though," Jungkook whined, shooting a glance back to Yugyeom and Jackson. Namjoon smiled and walked in.

"Mark, your weird sons are here to pick you up," he said and Mark smiled,

"Cool. Thanks for breakfast, Seokjin. Jongin, do you want a ride back to your dorm?" Jongin put down his plate and nodded.

"Yeah, thanks, that'd be great. I guess since no one's actually over at our dorm from here. You can pick up JB and Junior while you're there as well." He smiled at the death glare from Jackson. "Kidding. I know it's Jinyoung, it's just funny. **(I love you Jinyoung, but it low key is).** Let's go." The three left after saying goodbye to everyone and shut the door behind them. Everyone was back where they should be: BTS at Bighit, GOT7 at JYP, EXO at SM, and Jimin's hand holding Taehyung's.

**(Sorry if you aren't an iGOT7 or an EXO-L, but you should be.)  
(GOT7: Jaebum=JB EXO: Jongin=Kai, Junmyeon=Suho)**


	20. Chapter 20 - Taejoon Round 2

**Okay, I was lazy with this one and set it in an actual maze but writer's block is a bitch sue me. also I was researching phobias and this sounded cool so here we are**

(Love Maze)

"Got it?"

Everyone nodded. The producers just finished explaining the concept for the next Run episode and it was…let's say interesting. They were put into two pairs and a three. They were put in a maze. A huge one. The goal was to get to the middle, retrieve an object and find the way back to the entrance they came in (for example, Seokjin and Hoseok weren't allowed to leave through Yoongi, Jimin and Jungkook's entrance). The last group out suffered a forfeit. Simple, right?

Maybe not. The maze was full of stuff designed to scare them. Beehives, nursery rhymes, mannequins, and so forth. Specifically tailored to their known fears and ones they don't have yet. There were also tasks that had to be completed in order to open gates to let them pass. Taehyung was already nervous. There were a few things that everyone knew he was scared of, like bees. But there were other things that he was praying wouldn't be in the maze.

The teams were announced: Seokjin and Hoseok; Taehyung and Namjoon; and Yoongi, Jungkook and Jimin. A pretty fun mixture. Seokjin and Hoseok wouldn't get 10 feet without screaming their heads off, which was something that the others were looking forward to. Yoongi and Jungkook would hopefully ground Jimin, who was pretending to be unafraid of anything. Liar.

Taehyung and Namjoon went to their entrance on their side of the maze. It was gigantic. The producers estimated that they would be walking about a mile and a half in total. That is one big maze. Taehyung really didn't want to go in. Namjoon told him it would be fine; it was just a bit of fun after all. Taehyung let out a breath and smiled. There was no way anyone would guess his biggest fear and shove it in the maze. No one would be so confident that they were right.

The buzzer sounded and Namjoon ran into the maze, Taehyung following close behind. They stopped at the first intersection and tried to make a game plan. Namjoon said,

"Okay, I know you're scared of bees, right?" Taehyung nodded. "Anything else?" Taehyung didn't want to say. It was such a stupid fear but he really couldn't help it. Besides, it was so obscure that it was unlikely to be there. So instead, he settled for,

"Nope, just the yellow fuckers. You?" Namjoon shrugged.

"Just the usual stuff. Jump scares, dolls, that kind of stuff. So which way?" They set off to their left, having no reason to. They spent a while just walking aimlessly through the maze. They didn't encounter any challenges before they came to their first gate. Namjoon picked up the card and read it aloud,

"_Neither of you can laugh during this challenge. Each of you must stand on one leg for one minute straight without support. Both of you must complete the challenge. _Well dammit." They lasted thirty seconds before Namjoon fell over, making Taehyung laugh. They tried again and failed. The third time, they just about made it past a minute standing on one leg in silence. When they both fell at the end, they burst into laughter and the gate opened.

As they progressed slowly, wary of the challenges, they heard faint screaming. It sounded like Seokjin and Hoseok had encountered their first fears. Namjoon laughed at them. Taehyung joined him. Around the next corner, the ground was splattered in what looked like red paint. They stopped. A few feet on, realistic disembodied limbs dotted the floor. Taehyung looked over.

"Are you scared of gore?" Namjoon paused.

"I mean…I'm not fond of it." Taehyung nodded.

"Keep walking forward and don't look. Close your eyes and I'll tell you when it's over, okay?" Namjoon smiled and kept looking down. Taehyung slowly walked him forward, examining the well-made props. The blood looked real, but the flesh looked fake. The knives were definitely real, though. They made it past their first fear and hi-fived each other. This was going well.

Until Taehyung heard something. A low, quiet humming sound from around the next corner.

"Oh hell no." Namjoon looked around first and looked back cautiously at Taehyung. So it was a beehive. Great. Taehyung walked slowly, not speaking and trying not to anger the insects. But when he felt something brush against his arm, he panicked and sprinted to the next corner, squealing. He heard Namjoon laugh and saw him jog to catch up. Taehyung hit him. "Shut up." Namjoon smirked.

They went through two more challenges, centred around water and slime. It was gross, but Taehyung was just relieved that they were almost in the middle and he hadn't seen any sign of his worst fear. The centre was a big circle. It was mostly empty, aside from a table with the objects on it. As they were about to approach the table, they heard movement from a different path.

Yoongi and Jimin emerged, holding a rather shaken Jungkook tightly. Taehyung walked over to them.

"He's really scared of clowns. Like, _really_ scared of clowns," Yoongi explained. Jungkook hit him weakly.

"They're terrifying, okay?" Yoongi just nodded and rolled his eyes. Namjoon walked over.

"Tae, I got the thing, let's go." He held up the object. And Taehyung's blood froze.

He stumbled backwards until he hit the wall and curled up into a ball, trying to surround himself with comforting darkness. Because the object just _had_ to be a crucifix. And crucifixes triggered something within Taehyung that made him unable to breathe. Or swallow. Or live. He hadn't thought that maybe they were so unassuming that they put it in the maze by accident. But he wanted to just get away from it. Next to that thing, bees seemed beautiful and innocent creatures.

Maybe it was a past trauma or a subconscious something or other, but Taehyung had known about his irrational fear of crucifixes since he was fourteen. They gave him bad panic attacks and he didn't know how to stop them. It wasn't even that he was against Christianity, but he could not deal with that particular symbol. And he wouldn't. He felt a hand on his shoulder and flailed his arms to get rid of whoever was trying to disturb him. He was shaking and crying and could not do this here.

"Taehyung..." The voice was faint but definitely there. He clung on to the sound for life and tried so hard not to let it go. Slowly, his blood stopped bubbling in his veins and he regained some form of control over his muscles. He raised his head to find that his vision was blurred and dark. He wiped his eyes with a shaking arm and found that his sight was still blocked by something. He managed to focus and he saw that it was just Namjoon and Seokjin kneeling next to him. He noticed that Namjoon was talking and tried to listen.

"…sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. Taehyung, please talk to me, I'm so sorry. What happened? Can you talk?" Taehyung looked up at him but felt that he was too suffocated to speak. He tried but no sound came out. Namjoon touched Seokjin's arm and the elder stood up and left. More light entering his vision made him feel better. He tried to talk.

"S-s-st…" Taehyung stuttered. He shook his head and tried again. "St-staurophobia. Ir-rational f-fear of crosses and cr-crucifixes. I sh-should hav-ve said. I'm s-sorry," he managed. He watched as Namjoon chucked something that was in his hand as far away as he could. He gently placed his hand on Taehyung's shoulder.

"It's okay, it's gone. I'm sorry," Namjoon whispered. "Hoseok! He's alright!" he called to Hoseok, who was presumably calling for help. Taehyung attempted to stand up against the wall and Namjoon helped him. He was leaning heavily on his hyung but at least he was up. It was better than his breakdown as a teenager when he seized in his room for two days.

"How long was I…" Taehyung looked at the floor. He didn't have a great sense of time when he was in panic mode and he didn't really know how long he had spent this time. Namjoon frowned and fixed Taehyung's hair.

"About twenty minutes," he answered. Taehyung was impressed. Breakdowns didn't usually last less than an hour. "Come on, let's get you out of here. We won't upload this episode, though. We might try again next week if you're up for it. Sound good?" Taehyung nodded. He held on to Namjoon's arm and they left the centre. Namjoon had a map on his phone that one of the producers had sent him showing how to get out.

They managed to leave the maze without encountering any bees or limbs and instantly there were people all over Taehyung, wondering if he was okay, trying to force feed him water and checking his temperature. Namjoon pushed them away. Taehyung thanked him silently since his vision kept fuzzing and blacking randomly. He didn't want to deal with people.

They got back to the dorm and Namjoon took Taehyung straight to bed. He didn't want to sleep. He knew he would have a nightmare. He didn't know what it would be about but it would be the same as every other time. He just didn't remember what that was. But Namjoon had done so much for him and he didn't want him to worry. So he went to sleep. Mistake.

When he woke up, it was dark. He was alone. So alone. He was sweating and shivering and his throat hurt. And he still couldn't remember. His door flung open and Namjoon ran in. He was down by Taehyung's bed in a second, in his night clothes and with concern etched into his face.

"Taehyung! Are you okay? You screamed really loudly, is that why you woke up?" Taehyung was already crying. Because he couldn't remember. Because he was so scared. Because Namjoon was being the best friend he could ask for. Taehyung didn't answer and just shook his head. Namjoon pulled him into a tight hug and Taehyung gripped him close. The others were at his door, obviously also really worried. Namjoon saw and waved them off. Yoongi shut the door and it was dark again.

Taehyung held Namjoon's hand and dragged him into the bed. Namjoon just stayed with him until he fell asleep again. Taehyung didn't have any more nightmares. When he woke up the next morning, Namjoon was there and he didn't know why. He quietly got up and left his room. Jungkook, Hoseok, Jimin and Yoongi were in the living room. They looked at Taehyung curiously.

"Tae, are you alright? Did you sleep okay?" asked Jimin. Taehyung was confused.

"Um, yeah…why?" The other three looked between themselves.

"Because you had a panic attack in your sleep last night…?" relayed Yoongi. Taehyung thought back. Had he? He didn't quite remember. That would explain why Namjoon was in his bed.

"Did I?" he asked. Everyone nodded. "Oh yeah, I had a nightmare. I'm fine now tho- " he stopped because he knew he was lying. "Okay, maybe I'm not. But I won't break down again for a while. Unless I get triggered again. Not fun." Being casual made things easier, but he could tell it weirded out the others. Jungkook sat properly.

"Do you mind if I ask what triggered it? All I know is we were having a normal conversation in the maze and suddenly you were on the floor shaking and screaming for Namjoon in your sleep." Taehyung sat down.

"Well, the thing is…wait, what?" The others shrugged. "I called for Namjoon?" They nodded.

"Yeah, that's why he went in first," answered Hoseok. "You were crying for ages before that but we didn't know if it was safe to wake you up. So we were waiting outside the door but then you screamed and shouted 'Namjoon' so he ran in. Do you not remember?" Taehyung shook his head.

"My nightmares get erased from my head as soon as I have them. I think it's like a protection thing like I automatically block stuff out if they're going to trigger me." Seokjin walked in and paused when he saw Taehyung. "Okay, sit down, I'll explain." Everyone did so.

"So I think when I was little, I must have had some really traumatic experience in a church because since I was 14, I've had something called staurophobia. It's the fear of crucifixes. Whenever I see them I just freak the hell out for a while. But I don't remember what it was that caused it because I can only remember it when I'm triggered and when that happens, I'm not really in the mood for thinking properly or logically. In my breakdown period, I get nightmares if I fall asleep. And it's always the same one, I know that much, but I don't ever remember what it is when I wake up. Otherwise, I'd be having attacks all the time. It hasn't happened recently for a while. I didn't think I would ever have to tell you. I've never called for anyone before. I think I'm by myself in the dream. I don't ever have backup or anything. Interesting."

Everyone took a minute to process all of this. Taehyung understood that this was a lot to just drop on his friends. They looked kind of taken aback and Taehyung knew that it really wasn't a normal thing to have panic attacks at the sight of crosses. Like, that was strange. But his friends weren't laughing, which he felt so eternally thankful for. When they still didn't say anything, Taehyung just said,

"Anyway, have fun processing that, I'm gonna go back to bed." He turned back to his room and shut the door behind him. For some reason, he was still shaking and really didn't feel like talking about it anymore. Namjoon was sitting on his bed, waiting for him. He stood up and walked to hold Taehyung's hands.

"You need to tell us before any of this kind of stuff happens. You know I'll try to protect you." Taehyung nodded and hugged Namjoon closely. Namjoon stroked the back of his hair and Taehyung shivered against the warmth. Namjoon pulled back and looked Taehyung straight in the eyes. Taehyung didn't know if he just felt alone or vulnerable, but whatever it was drove him to close his eyes and kiss Namjoon as softly as he could.


	21. Chapter 21 - Hopekook

**Holy hell this is a lot of angst. There isn't even a happy ending. Sorry if you were looking for some cute Hopekook, but apparently, my brain was in a bad mood today and spat this out. It's a lot. You have been warned.**

(Tear)

Hoseok dropped his bag on the floor after a long, long day. Hours of dance practice followed by hours locked in his studio composing stuff. He was exhausted. He just wanted to go home, eat and sleep for a long time. As he walked into the kitchen, he noticed there was something cooking but there was no sign of Jungkook. Hoseok wondered around the house in search of his boyfriend.

He walked down the corridor to their bedroom and saw that the door was slightly open. He could hear Jungkook talking, most likely on the phone. Simply wanting to hear his voice, Hoseok listened to him talk. He sounded distressed.

"… don't know what I'm going to say. He's going to find out eventually and I really don't know what I'm going to do when that happens. I really love him, I swear, and I didn't want any of this to happen. I hate hiding all of this from him but at the same time, he'd leave me if he found out. I can't keep doing this." There was a pause, presumably while the other person replied, and Hoseok didn't know what to think. What was Jungkook hiding that was so bad that he was worried Hoseok would leave him? He felt bad for listening but needed to know more.

"What do you mean, 'I brought this on myself'? I didn't plan any of this! Namjoon, I need your help, please. Namjoon! Dammit!" Whoever Namjoon was had seemingly hung up. Hoseok had no idea who that was, but Jungkook seemed to trust him, which was strange. Hoseok had been dating Jungkook for over two years now and he thought he knew all of his friends. Apparently not.

The door flew open in front of Hoseok and Jungkook jumped back, surprised.

"Hoseok! Babe, it's _so_ good to see you! How long have you been back?" Hoseok found himself analysing Jungkook's movements and words, trying to find hints that he was lying. _That's ridiculous_, Hoseok thought. He had no reason to suspect that Jungkook was lying to him at all. But Hoseok couldn't help it. Jungkook did look genuinely pleased to see him, although he was a little taken aback by his sudden appearance.

"About five minutes," he answered and watched Jungkook's smile falter a bit. "Who's Namjoon?" Hoseok didn't want to pretend that he wasn't concerned, especially to his own boyfriend. Jungkook shoved his phone into his pocket as if he was trying to hide it.

"No one! H-he's just a friend, that's all," Jungkook stuttered, defensive. Hoseok tilted his head but said nothing. "C-come on, dinner should be ready by now." His bright smile returned and Hoseok followed him to the dining room. They ate in silence. They both knew something was wrong. After about five minutes, Hoseok sighed and leaned back.

"Jungkook, I need you to tell me the truth," he said. Jungkook looked up.

"Always! Is something wrong?" Hoseok felt guilty for eavesdropping and not believing Jungkook, but there was something off about him today.

"Promise?" he asked. Jungkook nodded. "Then who is Namjoon and why do you need his help?" Jungkook froze and then looked down, anywhere that he didn't have to look at Hoseok. "Jungkook, you promised to tell the truth. What's going on?" Jungkook ran his hand through his hair and leaned his elbow on the table, thinking hard about something.

"I-I can't tell you," he mumbled. Hoseok sighed and stood up. He began to walk back to his room. Jungkook wasn't supposed to be hiding things from him. Hoseok sure as hell didn't hide things from him. Because he trusted Jungkook. He wondered how long that would last. "Hoseok, wait." He turned around to see Jungkook standing and fidgeting anxiously, clearly distressed.

"Are you going to tell me? Or make an excuse for why you can't?" Hoseok asked sadly. Jungkook let out a deep breath.

"It's not going to be fun to hear…"

"I don't care. Jungkook, you're supposed to tell me everything, good or bad," Hoseok argued.

"This is… bad. Really fucking bad. I'm so sorry in advance," Jungkook admitted. Hoseok waited for him to say whatever it was.

"About two and a half years ago, I lived in Brazil. I… I had a home there, a family that I needed to support. A wife, kids. Long story short, I was at the centre of one of the biggest illegal drug networks in the country. But things went south. Fast. There was some dodgy stuff going on that I had no control over. I think there was a slave trade going on at some point. And it all tied back to me. The police found a lead and I really needed to disappear.

"Namjoon was my coordinator. He helped me move here and set up a life. I was meant to just stay low, not do anything that would draw attention, not make any contacts or friends that could blow my cover. But then I met you and I couldn't help it. You were just so… you and I fell for you. Namjoon keeps me updated from time to time. Last week, he called and told me that the police knew it was me. They found my family. I was going to run away again but then I remembered you. I don't want to lose everything I love _again_. So that's my story. I'm so, so sorry."

Hoseok didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to process any of that. The past two years of his life had been a total lie. He had been dating a cheat, a wanted criminal, a liar. And Hoseok did not know what to do. No tears came to his eyes, despite the crushing sensation he felt inside him. He had loved Jungkook, trusted him with his life and he had shattered that. He didn't know anything anymore. He had no idea who was standing in front of him but it sure as hell wasn't Jungkook.

He walked past Jungkook towards the window. He opened it and climbed out onto the fire escape, heading to the roof. He walked up the cold metal stairs and heard Jungkook follow him. He dropped onto the roof and revelled in the chilling wind that gave him some kind of sensation. Hoseok could not think properly about anything. Maybe if he could, he wouldn't have walked to the other side of the roof and stood on the ledge, looking down at the streets and thinking about how all of his problems could disappear with one step forwards.

"Hoseok, what the hell are you doing? Please, for God's sake, _please_!" he heard Jungkook shout from somewhere behind him. The drop didn't look too far, but he was sure his problems would be gone by the time he reached the bottom. A hand gripped his wrist and he stumbled backwards, off the ledge. He wrenched his hand away aggressively.

"I don't know you," He whispered, barely audible against the wind. "But you're the same person. You ruined your whole illusion within the space of two minutes. That doesn't even seem possible. But one minute I loved you and the next minute I realised I loved the you that you wanted me to love. The you that you were pretending to be. But you aren't him. You aren't my Jungkook. I don't know where he's gone. I don't know who you are. I don't know what's going on. I don't know anything."

Hoseok knew that if he was fully conscious, he would currently be breaking down. In the past five minutes, he had discovered that his boyfriend had been a drug dealer with a wife and children, found out that the last two years of his life had been totally fake and genuinely contemplated suicide. But the shock was saving him. He was numb to everything. He was just about aware that someone was sobbing and apologising to him but he didn't care.

He ignored whoever was in front of him and pushed past him, climbing back down the fire escape to the apartment. He picked up his phone and dialled 911.

"Hi. I've been living with an international drug dealer and slave trader for about the last year. Who do I talk to about that?"


	22. Chapter 22 - Namgi Round 2

(Blood, Sweat & Tears)

At five o' clock in the morning, Namjoon's phone rang. Bleary-eyed and half asleep, he picked it up. He didn't even check the caller ID.

"H-hello?" he asked.

"_Namjoon, thank God, Jimin didn't pick up_," came the reply. It sounded like Yoongi.

"Yoongi? Why are you calling? It's five am."

"_Yes, Namjoon, I know, we live in the same country. Look, I need you to come and pick me up._" Namjoon lay back and frowned.

"Pick you up? Why, where are you?"

"_Forest Hotel. It's a five-minute drive from the dorm."_

"If it's five minutes, why can't you get yourself back?"

"_It's…difficult to explain over the phone. Can you just come and get me? Please?_" Namjoon made sure his sigh was audible and replied,

"Fine. I'll be there in ten."

"_Thanks, Joon_." Namjoon hung up. As he rolled out of bed and shook himself awake, he remembered that Yoongi hadn't come home the night before. He had gone to a bar or something and just stayed out. Namjoon hoped he wasn't in too much trouble. He threw on some clothes; it was five am, there wouldn't be many people to see him. He remembered that the car was out for servicing and he couldn't drive or take Hoseok's car anyway, so he got a taxi.

Forest Hotel was surprisingly normal. Not the type of place that Namjoon expected Yoongi to stay the night, especially not so close to the dorms. He realised that he didn't know the room number and it probably wasn't under Yoongi's name since that would draw rather a lot of attention. He texted Yoongi and got an almost instant reply. He went to the elevator and up to the fourth floor.

He found Room 426 and sound that, thankfully, the door was unlocked. He went in and saw a generic-looking hotel room. Not like the ones they usually stayed in; less extravagant and nice than that. Yoongi wasn't in the main area. He frowned and turned the corner into the bedroom.

Yoongi was lying shirtless over the covers with one hand up to the bedpost. Namjoon folded his arms.

"Really, Yoongi? Could you not have just gotten yourself home?" Yoongi looked up. He blinked and hesitated.

"Okay, well…okay, I can't. Look." He pulled his hand away from the bedpost but it wouldn't fall away. Namjoon stepped closer. Yoongi's wrist was tied against the bed frame, not letting him escape. Upon closer inspection, he had scratches and bite marks all over his chest. Namjoon couldn't help but laugh. Yoongi sulked, "Stop it! I've got a cramp in my shoulder from sleeping like this. Can you untie me, please?" Namjoon stopped laughing enough to go and sit on the bed.

"I mean, wow! Where did she go? The girl, I mean. At least, I'm assuming that's what happened," Namjoon smiled and Yoongi sighed,

"She left like twenty-five minutes ago. She shut the door really loudly and it woke me up. I'm just lucky I could reach my jeans and my phone or I'd be screwed. Can you cut me loose?" he asked again. Namjoon raised his eyebrow.

"Oh, no. I'm not done with you yet. First of all, that was dangerous, you don't know what she could have taken or what she could have posted by now. Second, you let her leave marks that are going to need to be covered up. I know, they're on your chest, but still, you're going to be dancing. Third, I didn't know you were into being tied up?" he joked the last point.

"Okay, first," Yoongi began explaining himself. "I made sure her phone was away from her beforehand and I keep checking everything just in case she posts anything anyway. She seemed chill about it and I didn't tell her my real name. Second, and third actually, I can do what I want and you can't shame me. I deserve to relax once in a while," he probably would have folded his arms if he could move both of them. Namjoon snickered.

"How's that cramp doing? Relaxing enough?" Yoongi rolled his eyes.

"Okay, maybe relax was the wrong word. Just, untie me?" he pleaded again. Namjoon looked closer.

"Hold on, one of those scratches actually looks pretty bad." He went to touch the line that looked like it was just deep enough to scar for a week or so. Yoongi flinched away slightly.

"No, really, it's fine. It's nothing that hasn't happened before, trust me," he said. Namjoon held eye contact and traced his finger along the scratch. He watched Yoongi wince again. "Ah…your hand is really cold," he defended. Namjoon tutted.

"Okay, fine. I am going to go get something so it'll heal quicker, though" he insisted. Yoongi gave in,

"Fine." Namjoon stood up. "Wai- let me go, first!" he struggled and Namjoon just grinned and searched for the first aid kit. It was funny seeing Yoongi suffer like that. He found the box and got out some antiseptic and cotton. He walked back over to where Yoongi was pouting. "Can you get a bandage for my arm as well? It feels like it's about to fall off." Namjoon shrugged,

"Nah, deal with it. Wait, it's not your bad shoulder, is it?" he asked cautiously, remembering how Yoongi broke his shoulder as a trainee and didn't go to the hospital.

"N- if I say yes, will you let me go?" he asked. Namjoon smirked,

"Not anymore." He dabbed the cotton gently at the scratch and Yoongi hissed through his teeth. Namjoon stopped and looked at him.

"Sorry, it was cold." Namjoon tried again and all he got was Yoongi visibly tensing up. He finished and put the stuff back in the first aid kit. He stood next to Yoongi, looking down at him from beside the bed. Yoongi sat up against the headboard and looked at Namjoon expectantly. "Are you going to untie me now?" Yoongi asked for the sixth time (probably). Namjoon smiled pitifully.

"Okay." Yoongi sighed gratefully and Namjoon got out the scissors from the first aid kit. As he was about to cut through the ribbon, he noticed something. "Jesus, Yoongi, what did you do to the bedpost? It's scratched to hell!" he commented and Yoongi squirmed impatiently.

"I told you, I had fun last night. Hurry up. Please?" he asked yet again but Namjoon retracted the scissors, making Yoongi whine. It was fun torturing him like this.

"Come on, Yoongs, we're friends. Tell me what made you scratch the bed like that and I'll let you go," he persisted. Yoongi sighed hesitantly,

"Let's just say she had a pretty mouth and she knew how to use it. Now for God's sake let me go or I will choke you," he stared menacingly at Namjoon. Namjoon stayed still in defiance. Yoongi slammed his back violently against the headboard, pushing the bed back into the wall with a bang. He did not look away from Namjoon as he said in a low voice, "Cut it. Now."

Namjoon tilted his head. Sure, Yoongi was mad, but there was something in his eyes that made him not want to cut the ribbon.

"Why do I get the feeling you're enjoying this?" he asked quietly. He wasn't entirely sure, but he had been living with Yoongi for a while and was pretty sure he knew when he really wanted to stop something. This wasn't it. Unthinkingly, his hand traced a line down the centre of Yoongi's chest, making him shiver. Namjoon tilted his head. He moved his finger lightly back up to the base of Yoongi's neck and received the same reaction. Strange.

"S-stop," Yoongi tried, weakly. He could easily move his other hand to stop Namjoon that way, but he didn't. He just shut his eyes and breathed out. Namjoon smiled slightly.

"No," he stated. Yoongi must have remembered he had another hand because he used it to grab Namjoon's arm. Instead of pushing it away, however, he pulled it down, forcing Namjoon closer to his face. Without much warning at all, he gripped the back of Namjoon's neck and pushed him down. He kissed him forcefully and Namjoon did not pull back, much to his own surprise. He kissed Yoongi back with every bit as much power, which Yoongi seemed to appreciate.

Namjoon took Yoongi's hand from behind his neck and pinned it to the bed. He wasn't usually an incredibly dominant person, but Yoongi was tied up; he'd be an idiot not to indulge him. He moved his lips to lightly press against Yoongi's jawbone and made him purr slightly. This wasn't enough. He kissed down his neck and caught skin between his teeth, forcing a louder moan out of Yoongi's lips.

"P-please…" Yoongi whined deeply. Namjoon laughed against his neck.

"Please what? What do you want me to do to you?" he reattached his lips to Yoongi's neck and licked against the marks he had made.

"T-take me," Yoongi stuttered, "Take everything that m-makes me and make it y-yours. I want to have nothing. I want to be owned. Own me." Namjoon raised his head to look Yoongi in the eyes. He was desperate, needy. And Namjoon loved it. He smiled,

"With pleasure." He kissed Yoongi again and slipped his tongue through their lips, tasting him.

Then Yoongi's phone rang. Both of them groaned in annoyance and Namjoon looked over.

"Shit, it's Jimin, we have to answer." That was the agreement. Whatever you were doing, wherever you were where phones were permitted, you had to answer a member's call or text them back. That way, they knew you were safe and everyone stayed up to date. Yoongi exhaled deeply and Namjoon answered the phone, leaving it on speaker on the bedside table. He went back to kissing Yoongi's neck.

"_Yoongi?_" came Jimin's voice.

"Y-yeah?" Yoongi answered, just about holding it together while Namjoon's hand skimmed over his chest.

"_Where are you? And why did you call me at like five in the morning?_"

"I was, uh, in a situation. I-it's okay though, I'm fine now." He bit down on his lip hard, proving that he was not fine.

"_Okay. Have you seen Namjoon? I mean I know it's half past five but he isn't in his room._" Namjoon chuckled slightly at this.

"Yeah, h-he's with me. He was just giving me a hand with s-something." Namjoon grazed his teeth over Yoongi's neck again and forced him to let out a small whimper that Jimin could probably hear.

"_Oh. Well, shouldn't you be back by now?"_

"Yeah, o-okay. We're just on our way back. We'll be…t-ten minutes?"

"_Okay. I'm going back to sleep so I hope you've got keys. Get home safe." _Jimin hung up. Namjoon kissed him again and stood up, letting Yoongi whine at the loss of contact.

"Why did I say ten minutes? I should have said an hour and a half," Yoongi mumbled almost to himself. Namjoon smiled and retrieved the scissors again. Finally, he cut the ribbon and let Yoongi's hand free. He lowered his arm with a groan and soothed the skin where the ribbon had rubbed against it. "Wait. You won't tell anyone about this, right?" he asked with faint panic in his voice.

"Well, that depends now, doesn't it?" Namjoon replied, throwing Yoongi his shirt from the other side of the room. Yoongi tilted his head questioningly.

"On what?"

"On what you're going to let me do to you." He watched Yoongi's eyes widen and then smile. He sat back against the headboard, fixing his shirt cuffs.

"Y'know, you don't show this side of you enough. You should do it more often," he said and Namjoon laughed with fake malice.

"Ask properly and I might consider it. Now hurry up. You gave us ten minutes to get home and figure out what the hell is going on with us." Yoongi pouted and stood up, collecting his stuff.

"I'm too tired for that. It's half five in the morning, I still need at least four more hours of sleep."

"Too bad, we've got practice at 8 and we still need to conceal the marks on your neck," Namjoon pointed out and held open the door for them to leave. Yoongi was confused.

"I told her not to leave marks there. Dammit, she left hickeys on my neck?"

"No," Namjoon replied nonchalantly, "but I did. Let's go." Yoongi just laughed and shook his head before walking out of the open door to go downstairs, get a cab, sleep, put way too much make up on his chest and neck, almost create a scandal when he sweats some of it off and let Namjoon save him at the last minute. Yoongi was already thinking of ways to thank him.


	23. Chapter 23 - Taegi

(Love Myself)

"Yoongi-hyung, I love you!" Taehyung joked in one of their videos. Oh, wait, it wasn't one of their videos. It was loads of them. Yoongi had been browsing YouTube, looking at the weird crack videos people posted of them. He found it a little creepy how there were so many videos of them sleeping, or analyses of their dating lives, but Yoongi guessed it was their fault for uploading stuff like that in the first place.

After watching Seokjin and Jungkook spell 'STOP IT' for the fifth time, he saw something in the suggested videos that made him curious. It was called '_taehyung and yoongi making each other flustered_'. Hoping to God that he didn't get flustered around that boy enough to fill a full 9-minute compilation video, he clicked on it.

He watched it again. Then one more time. Then three more times. He thanked the stars that he was already in his room so he could pull the blankets up around him and cry without anyone hearing him. He didn't know why he was crying. Maybe a mixture of how sweet Taehyung was all the time to him. Maybe how often Taehyung told Yoongi he loved him. Maybe how Yoongi never said it back. Maybe how he was a total tsundere except without the warmth. Just the tsun part.

So Yoongi was crying. He hated himself for this. He was crying with remorse for every bad thing he had ever done to the nicest boy on the planet. Sure, Yoongi had written him a long text, but he had tried to stop Taehyung ever mentioning it again. Sure, Yoongi told Taehyung he loved him eventually, but always after threats and harsh prompts from everyone else. He was a horrible person.

This realisation, coupled with the memory that Taehyung loved him anyway, was enough to force another sob to rip through him, louder this time. He buried himself under duvets and comforters (doing a very bad job of comforting him) and blankets and curled up in the darkness, regretting his existence. Everything would be so much better, so much easier if he wasn't there. No one would notice if he stayed here. Taehyung would have other people who actually told him their feelings and let him express his own. No one would have to deal with Yoongi and they'd forget about him quickly enough.

The covers were thrown off him and Yoongi recoiled at the lack of darkness and warmth that comforted him. He curled up further, really trying to make himself disappear.

"Jesus, Yoongi, what happened? Can you look up for me?" Jimin's voice pierced through Yoongi's walls and he looked up. His face was streaked with tears and he was still crying, but he didn't care. He understood why Jimin hadn't asked if he was okay: because he so clearly was not. Jimin sat beside him and Yoongi tried his best to push him away. He didn't deserve help or comfort or Jimin or Taehyung. He deserved nothing but pain. "Hyung, please sit up for me?" Yoongi shook his head and buried his face in his arms again.

"N-no. Go aw-way," he wept, almost inaudibly. He felt Jimin reach over him and take something and he didn't object. Jimin could take whatever he wanted from him. Because Jimin was nice.

"Yoongi, why have you been watching Taegi compilation videos?" Yoongi reached out his hand, silently demanding his phone back. When all he felt was Jimin's hand in his, he retracted his arm and tucked it safely back next to him. He felt the bed rise slightly as Jimin got up and left. Yoongi thanked him, knowing full well he was too late, as with everything. Far too little, an eternity too late. He shut his eyes and pulled the blankets around him again, hating himself for indulging in warmth that he would never own or deserve.

His door opened again and he was about to remind himself that he didn't have the power to yell at anyone and it would only reinforce the cold and unloving demeanour that everyone knew he possessed.

"Yoongi? Jimin told me you needed me. What's wrong?" At the sound of Taehyung's voice, Yoongi melted into sobs even further. A fresh wave of tears drowned his eyes and further dampened his tear-stained face. He could taste salt and he didn't care. That was all he had earned with his lifetime of holding back his emotions for the sake of keeping up appearances. He felt fingers lightly comb through his hair and tried to push them away.

"S-stop…please, I c-can't…" he sobbed.

"I haven't seen you like this in a while. What happened, Yoongi? What did I do?" The concern and presumed self-reproach in Taehyung's voice made Yoongi's body shake, racked with cries of guilt and remorse.

"N-nothing. J-just go, pl-please." Yoongi was surprised when, unlike Jimin, Taehyung stayed. He got up, but only turned off the top light and sat down on Yoongi's bed. Taehyung pulled the covers up further over Yoongi and slid underneath them himself. Yoongi knew he did not deserve this. He didn't want this kind of affection because he had not earned it. All he had earned was loneliness.

With hopeless prayers that he could somehow make things right, that he could undo some of the reputations he had built for himself, he started to repeat under his breath,

"I'm sorry, Tae, I love you, I love you so much, I'm so sorry, I love you, I really love you, I love you, Tae, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I love you, I love you, Tae, I love you so much…" again and again and again, planning to never cease his mantra until he could show Taehyung even half of the love he had received from him. He felt arms wrap around him and he relaxed his body slightly, not giving up his chant

"Yoongi, I love you too," Taehyung interrupted, leaving Yoongi to stutter. "Please tell me what's going on? I don't like you being like this." Yoongi felt more sadness rise.

"B-but I'm b-being truthful. I know I'm t-too late but p-please, Tae, let me t-try. I love you so much," he whispered brokenly.

"What do you mean you're too late?" Taehyung asked and Yoongi turned so they were facing each other.

"You think I don't love you. Everyone thinks I don't love you. You love me so much and I can't match you and I don't think you should love me anymore. I don't deserve you. I don't want your love because I'm so far behind and I'll never be able to show you how much I love you because I don't have enough time. You shouldn't love me. I'm not worth it, don't you remember? I'm just a selfish, emotionally meaningless idiot." Yoongi buried his face into the sheets and Taehyung hugged him tightly.

"Of course I know how much you love me. Every time you look at me, you give me the silent support I wish everyone else had in their eyes. I don't care that you don't tell me you love me because I know it already. I don't need to hear it from you because your care and your encouragement are there all the time regardless of whether you say it or not. You aren't selfish because you don't tell people how you feel. You don't have to make anything up to me because you know I love you too. Whether you think you deserve it or not, I love you."

Yoongi sniffled into the bed and curled up. Because he had realised something. When Taehyung said 'I love you,' he meant what anyone would mean: I love you as a friend and a brother. When Yoongi said it, he meant so much more. He meant as a lover, a soulmate, something more than a friend. And it had taken him this long to realise it. And, once again, he hated himself for it.

"Y-you don't understand…" he whimpered and Taehyung stroked his cheek gently.

"What, what is it?" he whispered softly, his voice sending shivers down Yoongi's spine. He looked up at Taehyung, whose deep brown eyes were filled with worry and unconditional care. Yoongi couldn't help it. He pushed forward and kissed Taehyung so gently, so carefully. He wanted to prove... something. He couldn't quite remember. Everything left his head when his lips connected with Taehyung's, like his mind was too overwhelmed with him to focus on anything else.

Taehyung pulled back and Yoongi looked down. That was a mistake, he shouldn't have confessed, he shouldn't have kissed him, he had ruined everything again. But Taehyung just lifted Yoongi's chin gently and smiled,

"Sweetheart, before this goes any further, I need to hear you say something." Yoongi just nodded. "Tell me that you're worth it. Tell me you deserve this and truly believe what you're saying because no truer words have ever left those beautiful lips of yours." Yoongi blinked away tears, held by Taehyung's voice. If Taehyung said he deserved this, he couldn't be wrong; Taehyung was always right and caring and good. He wouldn't lie.

"I-I'm worth it. I'm good, I deserve this. I deserve you. I can have you because I am not a bad person and I have done good things in my life. I am worth love and I am worth you. I love you," he said quietly. Taehyung smiled again, a beautiful smile.

"That's better. Now come on, it's 7 am and Seokjin-hyung made breakfast." Taehyung kissed him again and pulled back the covers. Yoongi frowned,

"It's 7 am?" There was no way he had spent all night awake and crying. Taehyung helped him up out of bed; he had been curled up for so long that he had a cramp in his leg.

"Yeah. You woke Jimin up at about half-past, I'm gonna say," Taehyung replied, "And then he came and got me at around twenty to and now here we are. Time flies when you're contemplating your reality, doesn't it?" Yoongi smiled and Taehyung grinned. "Nice to see your smile back. Let's go, hyung. We'll talk properly later." Taehyung kissed him again, softly and opened the door for him.

Yoongi stepped out and felt like he saw the world anew. He thanked everyone for everything until they told him to stop because it was weird. Yoongi didn't mind it; he knew they loved him and he knew they knew he loved them back. And that was all that mattered.

**That video is real btw. Go look it up if you've got nine minutes free.**

**Thank you and love yourself**


	24. Chapter 24 - Jikook

**Lol this doesn't count as part of my upload schedule soooo**

(Danger)

Jungkook came over to mine last night. He comes over a lot nowadays; he's got some family issues that he doesn't like talking about so I don't even ask about it when he comes round. He's got a dance performance in assembly and he was nervous as hell. I would have gotten him to practise but my room's kind of small and I wanted to take his mind off it. So we just talked about nothing in particular. We do that a lot.

Jungkook is in the year below me but we're really good friends. He fell out with someone in his grade and they spread rumours about him that were bullshit so he was alone all the time. I was never one for keeping friends. I talk to people and I'm nice and I can flirt like you wouldn't believe but I never really hung out with people since all the groups were already solidified by the time I came here a month or two late. I saw Jungkook on my usual bench one day and I started talking because he looked sad. We kept being friends from there on in.

I wait in my form, talking to random people, excited for assembly. That isn't something that often happens. It occurs to me that I haven't ever seen Jungkook's routine. I know the song, though; it's Voodoo Doll by VIXX, a really good song that I introduced him to one day. His dance group consists of a few people in his year and a few in the year above mine. Our grade was banned from extra-curricular activities after a bunch of people went to the LGBTQ+ society and made homophobic comments the whole time. Pricks should've been expelled.

Our form teacher tells us to go down to the assembly hall and I am the first out of the door. We aren't the first class there so I'm seated near the middle of the block of seats. The assembly itself was mundane and uninteresting. I don't pay attention as per usual. It might have been on student wellbeing. It might have been on the Olympics. I don't concentrate. The speaker announces the performance and I sit up in my seat. Six boys, including Jungkook, walk onto the stage and position themselves to start the song.

The first thing I notice is what Jungkook is wearing. He is dressed in all black: black jeans, black sneakers, a black t-shirt underneath an open black shirt. It's a beautiful compliment to his dark hair and his dark eyes. He is easily the best looking one out of the six of them. The dance itself is hot as fuck. The heavy bassline and kinda violent nature of the song apparently translate into Jungkook being sexy for about four minutes.

That is not fair. Hip thrusts and body rolls are one thing, it's the subtler things that are getting to me. Like the fact that his eyes are literally raking through the audience. Or the fact that his tongue will not stay in his goddamn mouth. I'm so focused on Jungkook that the song ends far too soon and everyone applauds. I join them emphatically. We all file out of the hall and my mind is still caught on Jungkook.

I may or may not have a small, tiny crush on Jungkook. I don't usually notice it, but when stuff like this happens, I'm suddenly reminded that Jeon Jungkook is one of the most attractive people on the planet. And that's annoying as fuck. I don't remember when it started but I realised it one day when he left my house and I found myself thinking about him hours after. I dismissed it as worrying about him until I woke up in the middle of the night after an unexpectedly graphic dream. I guess my subconscious got fed up with me.

As I pick up my bag, I stop. I remember that Jungkook has an excuse to come in late to lessons; I don't but that doesn't matter. I could find him by his locker in about five minutes if I waited and congratulate him on his performance. My way.

So I wait. The hallway clears and I begin to think I missed him until I hear whistling from the other end of the corridor. Jungkook exits the hall, still in his performance outfit and I try very hard not to faint. It's just not fair for anyone to be that beautiful. He doesn't notice me and I take a deep breath. I walk towards him and he finally sees me. He smiles his bunny smile, looking far too innocent given what he just did.

"Jimin-hyung! Did you like the performance?"

"_Your_ performance. You owned the stage, Jungkook." I move slightly closer to him and he doesn't flinch. He just shrugs,

"Really? I'm not good at looking natural or anything on stage so I was really nervous." His tongue flicks out of his mouth again and he bites his bottom lip. I absolutely lose it. I grab his waist and push him against the locker. He's about to stutter out a question but I save him time.

"Un-fucking-fair," I hiss in his ear, "There's no way all of that was just a goddamn nervous tic, Jungkook. You're either a liar or a god and, lucky for you, I like both." He manages to get out the first syllable of a word. I don't even look at his face; I just plant an open-mouthed kiss on his neck and hear his voice morph into a breathy groan.

"J-J-Jimin…" he stammers, his breaths shallow and fast. I pay it no attention. I tongue down his neck, leaving bite marks wherever I feel like it. After that assembly, there are bound to be people seeing Jungkook in a new light. I want to make sure they know he's taken. I hum against his skin and I feel his hand brush against my waist. It's slight, but it's there. I want to keep it there. I kiss up his neck again until I reach his jawline. He shivers slightly and lets out a quiet moan. I know where I want to go next but I don't know if he'd let me. Even by my standards, this is going a bit fast.

I look at him. He had his eyes closed but opens them when he notices I've stopped. I search his eyes, trying to figure out how he feels about all this. I find confusion, mainly, and pleasure. Not enough. I might be being paranoid, I don't know, but I don't want to do this anymore. At least my conscious mind doesn't. My subconscious is screaming at me to drag him into a bathroom and fucking ruin him. But I don't.

"I'm sorry," I whisper. I let go of him and walk away, trying not to look back or concentrate on just how much I royally fucked things up. I just walk to my classroom. For the whole rest of the day, I can't help feeling so ashamed of myself. What was I thinking? I was about to take his first kiss! I'm glad I stopped myself, at least. That's the only thing I'm proud of anymore, although it's a little bit drowned out by the shame of everything else.

I pass him once in the corridor at the end of the day. There are a lot of people so I don't think he sees me. I see him, though. I scan him over quickly and notice that he looks really quite down, spacey, out of it almost completely. I also notice that he's hunching a little bit. I'm confused as to why before his posture drops momentarily and I see a red mark on his neck that was hidden by his blazer. A red mark made by my teeth. He was trying to hide it. He's ashamed of it. Of course he is.

I walk home. Alone like I should be. I slink up to my room and do my homework, not focusing on anything anymore. I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. It could be maths; it could be geography. My mind is stuck on what a horrible person I am for corrupting my best and only friend.

The doorbell snaps me back to my senses. Dazed, I check the clock and see that it's a little past 9 pm. I've been sitting here for a while. It's even started raining. Stretching slightly, I walk downstairs to open the door. And freeze.

Standing outside is Jungkook, soaking wet from the rain. It might be the light playing on raindrops but I think… is he crying? He looks up at the sound of the door and I can't say anything. I have no idea what I even can say to him right now. I know he's probably here to yell at me or something and I really don't blame him. He takes a deep breath.

"I won't be able to do this later. So I'll do it now. I'm sorry," he says. The next thing I feel is a stinging, burning pain in my left cheek. He slapped me. Fair enough. But as I recover, I feel arms wrapped tightly around my torso and a head buried in my shoulder. I feel him shaking. I feel him sobbing. For the first time all day, my thoughts turn off me and become consumed with concern for Jungkook.

"Come on, come inside. Let's get you out of the rain." I step back into my house and he doesn't let go of me. He just stays hugging me like a baby koala. I shut the door. Before I can ask him anything, he mumbles,

"Something happened, hyung. Can we go upstairs?" He looks up and I truly see the state he's in. His eyes are red and puffy, tears still falling. He's still wearing his uniform; it's wet and scruffy, slightly torn at one sleeve and his tie is missing. I can see the hickey I gave him and my heart gets heavier. I nod and he holds my hand. He's acting small. Vulnerable. He even called me 'hyung;' he usually refrains from doing that.

We reach my room and we sit down on my bed again. I don't care that he's wet. I just want him to be okay, something that he so clearly is not. He's sniffling, playing with my fingers, breathing shakily. I let him take his time. Eventually, he looks up at me and sighs,

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude. I can go if you want…" I know Jungkook well enough to recognise this stage. He's self-deprecating, convincing himself he doesn't need, want, deserve or get help. I know what to do; it's happened before.

"Please don't. I'm here for you, okay? Tell me what's wrong," I say. He realises he doesn't have a choice. He pauses lowering his head. I then realise that I can't be what made Jungkook cry. He has a tendency to run away from his problems rather than into their arms. He could have stayed at home but he didn't. I'm not what's wrong; his family is. "Jungkook, what happened?" He takes a deep, albeit unstable breath.

"I didn't go straight home. It… wasn't a good day at school so I went to get ice cream because ice cream cheers me up. I got the bus at about 6 and got home at quarter to. And my parents were fuming. I thought it was me but it wasn't. They yelled for my brother and he…" Tears are flowing freely again by this point but he bravely keeps going.

"He was crying. He had a bruise on his head. My dad grabbed him and stood him in front of me and shook him and said 'Your big brother has something to tell you, Jungkook'. I didn't know what was going on. My brother was really sobbing but he said he was gay. I didn't react, obviously, because that's not a problem. My parents were probably furious at him. I realised they threw something at him and that's why he had the bruise.

They grabbed his collar and my dad punched him in the stomach. My mom turned to me and said, 'That's what happens to faggots in this house. Now come here,' and I didn't move because I was scared and I didn't know what was happening. She just rolled her eyes and went to grab my collar and I panicked because she'd see the… the thing." He pauses with a vague gesture to his neck. He isn't looking me in the eye. Fuck.

"So I ran away and they tried to catch me but it was dark and raining and I took the long way and they don't know where you live, so I think I'm safe for now." He breathed again and then added, "It was all my fault." I shake my head.

"Jungkook, I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that. What on earth makes it think it's your fault?" I ask him and he shrugs,

"If I hadn't taken so long getting home. If I hadn't gotten ice cream, if I'd have taken the bus like normal, maybe I could have helped my brother then," he mumbles. I think for a second. There has to be a way out of this.

"Okay. But you got ice cream because you'd had a bad day. What was so bad about it?" I think I have an idea about where this is going, but I want him to shift the blame and think it through by himself. He pauses for a second. And another. And another.

"People made fun of me," he realises and I smile gently.

"And why were they making fun of you?" I lead him to the conclusion slightly. He looks up at me and then looks straight back down again.

"You." He is fidgeting uncomfortably and I think he wants to leave. I don't want to let him. Where would he go if not here? But I don't want to make this awkward, I don't want to alienate him.

"I'm sorry," I apologise and I mean it. I'd like to take the focus off him for a while. "I really don't know what came over me. I-I didn't mean to take it so far. And I made people hurt you and I really didn't want to but…" I said all this in one breath and I hadn't realised how much I needed him to hear it. And yet,

"That's my fault, too. If I hadn't have danced like that, you wouldn't have done it," he refutes. I sigh. I suppose it's confession time.

"No. Look, I… I've had a crush on you for ages. It's such an awful thing to admit but even without you dancing, I probably would have done it sooner or later. I'm so genuinely ashamed of myself for it because you're literally my only friend and I managed to develop a crush on you but I'm even more ashamed that I acted on it. I'm so fucking sorry. It's my fault but I'll gladly take the blame for you. I'm sorry. You… can go now if you want." Well, that was the hardest thing I've ever fucking done. Jungkook just looks at me.

"You're just saying that…" he whispers and I cannot believe this kid.

"Are you kidding?" I say louder than I meant. "You are physically perfect, you are the smartest person I know, you're so friendly and kind and you are so strong. You've survived through all this and you think I could lie about this?" Jungkook is silent. I wonder if I've crossed some kind of line, if he thinks I'm upset with him. I'm not sure but it's silent for a while. I realise that we're still holding hands.

"Jimin?" he asks timidly. I look up at him and see that he's blushing heavily. "C-can I kiss you?" he asks and I freeze. _Did he really just say that?_

"W-what?" I stutter and regret it. Jungkook looks like he hates himself now. Good job, Jimin.

"S-sorry, that was a really dumb thing to say," he retracts his hand and an anxious scrap of bravery makes me take it again. He looks at me and I become a nervous wreck once more. I don't understand how anyone can be that beautiful and it's fucking majorly with my head. His hair is damp and his skin is slightly flushed from the cold and I don't know how I ever managed to take my eyes off him. So I don't say a word. Neither does he. But to my immense surprise, he makes the first move.

It's cautious but he definitely leans in. I shut my eyes and follow his lead. I feel his lips press against mine and my mind goes totally blank. This is all I've ever wanted for about eight months and now it's actually happening. It doesn't feel real. His lips are so soft and warm, even though he had been running through the rain. It's intoxicating. We pull back momentarily to look at each other again but the moment of separation doesn't last long.

His hand tightens around mine and I know he wants more. I hold his hips and somewhat awkwardly lift him onto my lap, but we don't want to break the kiss. It's so insanely different from this morning, you could hardly believe we're the same people. It's slow, comfortable and loving. I suppose I'm less frustrated now. I have him this time. And now I do, I'm going to take my sweet time.


	25. Chapter 25 - Yoonjin

**the ending's a bit dkfzdhenzv bc I couldn't figure out how it should end without it turning into like 6000 words**

(Dionysus)

Seokjin walked into the dorm feeling confident. He knew that no one had been having a good day. Jungkook had developed hay fever somehow and it was flaring badly; Jimin's throat was sore and his voice kept cracking; Namjoon and Hoseok had had an argument and, although they made up quickly, they both still felt guilty and sad; Taehyung's friend had left him on read four times in a week; Yoongi saw everyone else being sad and that put him in a bad mood.

No one even looked up when Seokjin walked through the door. They just kept staring at their phones or reading or eating or whatever. When Seokjin sat down and slammed both bottles of soju on the table, suddenly everyone's attention was caught. He had bought one fruit soju for Taehyung, Jungkook and Hoseok and one normal for the grown-ups and Jimin.

They sat in silence, contemplating this decision and wondering if (praying that) everyone had the same idea. After a long pause, everyone moved at once. Seokjin, Namjoon and Hoseok started to clear the table, Taehyung opened the bottles, Jungkook went to help Jimin fetch all of their fourteen shot glasses and Yoongi cleared the floor so they could all sit down.

The shot glasses were laid out in pairs in front of each person and the soju was poured out neatly. They all knew that by the end of the night, it would be everywhere, so they made the effort now to keep it orderly. Taehyung clapped excitedly. It had been a while since they had done this.

"What first?" Jungkook asked. Seokjin thought momentarily and answered,

"Let's start off easy. Never Have I Ever. Bangtan style." Bangtan style wasn't much different from the normal version of Never Have I Ever. You drank if you had done whatever had been said, but whoever had done it the most times drank both of their shots. "Jimin, you go first." Jimin smiled and contemplated what to say.

"Never have I ever… released more than one solo song," he grinned. Namjoon, Yoongi, Taehyung and Hoseok all took one shot each.

"Do intros or Wings solos count?" Seokjin asked and Jimin shook his head.

"Do covers count?" Jungkook asked. Jimin hesitated before shaking his head again. Seokjin and Jungkook smiled, safe.

"No, you're good, too. Who's done the most solos out of you four?" All eyes flicked to Namjoon, who looked like he was about to protest without a coherent defence. He reluctantly downed the other shot to the delight of the rest of them. The glasses were refilled.

"Never have I ever… wow, let's think…" He looked around the table, picking targets. "Never have I ever scored a perfect ten in archery," Namjoon declared. Jungkook, Yoongi and Seokjin took a shot. After looking at his competition, Jungkook downed the other shot as well.

"Never have I ever… had a younger sibling," he put forward as his drink was being refilled. Namjoon and Jimin voluntarily took one shot and looked to the smiling Taehyung, who downed both of his consecutively.

"I hate you," he smirked. "Never have I ever eaten dog food." Jungkook sighed loudly and took both of his shots alone while everyone just laughed.

The game continued like this for some time, getting everyone various stages of drunk and forming rivalries against one another like usual. There was indeed alcohol all over the table from spillages (a bonus rule was made: if you spill your glass, you have to take another shot to make up for it). Everyone was smiling again and that made Seokjin even happier. Taehyung had probably drunk the most, possibly tied with Jungkook. Yoongi just winced at him taking another shot.

"How are you even drinking that stuff?" he asked, gesturing to the bottle of fruit-flavoured liquid. Taehyung shrugged,

"It's nice. It's sweet, like me," he grinned and Yoongi grimaced,

"Sickly."

Jimin's turn came around again and everyone had forgotten to be apprehensive. Jimin was usually the one to kick it up a notch, especially when he was a little tipsy.

"Never have I ever… wanted to kiss one of you guys." Literally everyone else took a shot. "Fuck yeah, I'll drink to that," Jimin proclaimed and joined them. "Now, who's done it the most?" he smirked and the others looked around, seeing who wanted to go first.

"I've only done it once," Hoseok defended. "It was backstage during a concert, like, Wings era. Jungkookie had just finished doing Begin and, oh my God, he looked _good_. I didn't though, obviously."

"Aw, thanks Hobi-hyung. I think… I only ever wanted to kiss Namjoon-hyung a few times back when I was like sixteen and my hormones were a mess," Jungkook admitted casually. He was a lot more confident after a few drinks. Namjoon blushed.

"War of Hormone was Tae's era. That's all I'm saying," he admitted and everyone hummed their agreement. Taehyung sighed,

"Ah, I had kind of a crush on Jimin-hyung for a while when we were trainees. Nothing massive, he just did more aerial cartwheels back then." Jimin smirked and leaned back on his hands.

"Fake Love was such a time. At any point during that filming, I would have wanted to kiss at least one of you," he acknowledged and that was a very valid point in Seokjin's mind.

"For me…" he paused. He knew exactly what he wanted to say, but he couldn't be too quick to say. "Mint Suga hit differently, I guess. The whole Beautiful Moment concept was just… hot," he admitted and immediately regretted it. Yoongi just shrugged, clearly a little bit shy.

"I don't know. DNA Jin looked pretty damn good as well. Love Yourself worked well for you." There was a brief moment of eye contact that felt like it lasted hours. What is seemed to say was, _Isn't that funny? We both wanted to kiss each other. Huh._

"Wait, so who loses?" Taehyung asked a very good question.

"Well, most of ours were specific. Yoongi-hyung and Jin-hyung had whole eras of wanting to kiss each other," Hoseok pointed out. Both of them reddened significantly.

"Which era was longer? The Most Beautiful Moment In Life or Love Yourself?" Namjoon threw the question out and no one had an answer.

"Were they the same? Should we say they both drink?" Jungkook wondered. This was a lot to sort out for their drunk brains. Jimin spoke up.

"Wait, wait, here's what we do. I'll drink again since Fake Love was longer than War of Hormone. You two can avenge the wishes of your past selves and kiss!"

"What?"

"That's…"

"Too late," Jimin grinned, already having taken his second drink. Seokjin and Yoongi shared an apprehensive look. Were they really going to do this? It seemed like a bad idea… didn't it? Seokjin honestly didn't know anymore. He was drunk and Yoongi was hot. Before Seokjin could fully process anything at all, he leaned over and kissed Yoongi lightly on the cheek. He pulled back to hear the others yelling excitedly and shaking him. Yoongi was laughing and blushing violently, as was Seokjin.

They continued playing games until the drinks ran out and, even then, they kept talking and laughing and poking fun at each other until about two in the morning when they called it a night. They all stumbled off to bed, dreading the next morning but remembering the night fondly. Seokjin already couldn't remember much of it. He was sure if he went to sleep, he would remember even less, but he was so tired. He flopped into bed and immediately shut his eyes. He realised that he probably shouldn't sleep in his gross clothes and took them off, shuffling under the covers comfortably.

He may have slept. He might not have done. All he knew is at some point, he felt an arm loop around his waist and a body press close to his. He opened his eyes, confused, and saw a pair of dark but sparkly eyes looking into his. Yoongi grinned,

"Hi, hyung. I couldn't sleep. Do you mind if I sleep here?" he whispered. Seokjin was just tired.

"Sure. Night, Yoongs," he said, shutting his eyes again.

"Night, hyungie," Yoongi yawned. He got more childish when he was drunk. Cuter. "Hyung," he whined after a minute and Seokjin grunted in response. "Do you really want to kiss me?" Seokjin opened his eyes to see Yoongi studying his face curiously. Seokjin was so drunk that he forgot to lie.

"I wouldn't mind," he shrugged. "I guess I got to earlier." He was surprised he remembered. Yoongi pouted,

"I never got to kiss you…" Their eyes met again and Seokjin's heart skipped more than one beat. In the time it took for it to function again, their lips pressed together sweetly. Seokjin pulled back almost immediately. Some part of his brain knew this was wrong. _Of course_, he realised. _Yoongi doesn't like sweet things_. He pushed Yoongi onto his back and positioned himself over him.

"Let's do this properly," he whispered and let himself melt into Yoongi's lips harder than before. It was rough and intense but Yoongi really didn't seem to mind. In fact, his fingers clawed at Seokjin's sides, scratching them deliciously. Seokjin hummed into Yoongi's mouth and the younger took this as an invitation to slip his tongue in. He tasted like alcohol but Seokjin did not mind at all. He knew he was the same.

A lifetime of rapping had really done Yoongi some favours. His tongue was skilled and agile and, even though he was drunk, Seokjin couldn't remember having a better kiss. Seokjin's hands caressed Yoongi's neck and slid down his soft skin to his shoulder. He dug his nails in slightly and Yoongi gasped slightly. Seokjin bit down lightly on his partner's plump lower lip and drew out a satisfied moan.

"M-more," he stuttered out and Seokjin was inclined to obey. He had no idea how far Yoongi wanted to take this but he definitely wanted this. He looked into Yoongi's hazed eyes and saw the same. Wait. Hazed. The drunk and needy part of Seokjin wanted so badly to stay. But the rational side knew this couldn't happen. At least, not now. His responsible instincts kicking in, he kissed Yoongi one more time and made it last. He pulled back to catch his breath and sadly said,

"No. In the morning. Sleep." Yoongi frowned and that frown morphed into a pout that looked so goddamn irresistible.

"Fine," he whined. Seokjin rolled back and lay next to him. "Night, hyung." Yoongi shut his eyes and Seokjin followed suit, minorly heartbroken.

A pounding, throbbing in his head woke him up. He didn't open his eyes, but he could tell it was far too bright in the room. He pulled the blankets over his head and groaned, regretting so much that he didn't even remember. He curled up and his leg hit something else in his bed. He quickly realised that it was a person. He slowly realised that it was Yoongi.

Yoongi croaked as well and hid himself under the covers, too. Seokjin opened his eyes to see Yoongi looking at him curiously.

"I drank… way too much," he whispered and Seokjin nodded,

"Same. My freaking head…" he cringed at his searing headache and just caught Yoongi giggling at him slightly. Seokjin rolled his eyes, hurting his brain more. As he tried to recover from a bad wave of nausea, he remembered something. And then a little more. And a whole lot more. Very Yoongi-centric things. He opened his eyes again and Yoongi was still looking at him.

"I mean I know we're both dying but…" he seemed unsure of how to phrase the next bit. "Worth it?" he asked. Seokjin thought momentarily and then smiled,

"Yeah. Worth it." He watched as Yoongi smiled back and then shuffled closer slightly less confidently. Seokjin followed his lead. The golden sun filtered through the white sheets cast a gorgeous light on Yoongi and Seokjin found him even more desirable than last night. He kissed him again, slowly, pleased that he could focus this time. They continued for some time and Seokjin had one thought on his mind.

_Maybe Yoongi likes sweet things more than he admits._


	26. Chapter 26 - Taegi Round 2

(Cypher 4)

Taehyung hadn't killed anyone. No, really, he hadn't. He had spray-painted a wall, that's it. It just happened to belong to the school. And he may have definitely known that. In other words, he was sitting in detention for 'vandalism'. Taehyung wasn't a vandal; he was a straight-A student who was sick of his title. He was in first grade, too early to be labelled a nerd. The headmaster was sitting across from him, probably talking about values or something equally dull.

"…we have called in your parents but it may take a while for them to arrive." Taehyung smiled. For once, living on an actual farm was paying off. "In the meantime, go to the detention room and get your story ready for them." Taehyung stood and left. He didn't need to get his 'story' ready. He would own up because he was proud of his art. And he got to sleep in an empty room for half an hour until his parents came and told him what a bad example he was setting for his little siblings. Again, Taehyung was a straight-A student. What a bad example.

He was expecting the detention room to be empty like it usually was. It wasn't. Even before he opened the door, he could hear people talking. No, not people; just one. And not talking, either. Taehyung opened the door quietly and listened to the words angrily being spat at the walls.

"…click click to the bang bang/click-click to the pow/I'm so high, how dare you covet/Even if you run up to it, it's too high for you to reach/The difference is pretty big, you can't see it/After shattering your delusions/About your shitty cars/And once everyone's finished playing with them…" Taehyung immersed himself in the rap and found himself genuinely appreciating the talent. Until the voice stopped. The beat kept going, but someone called out,

"Yes?" Taehyung stepped within view of the speaker, embarrassed. He looked around the room and his eyes fell on a black-haired boy in dishevelled school uniform sitting on a table. He looked Taehyung up and down before asking, "What do you want?" Taehyung knew he was older, but also knew he was cool. So he just shrugged and replied,

"I'm in detention." The boy looked over Taehyung's carefully managed, pristine uniform, his straightened hair and his glasses and laughed derisively.

"You? Really? What'd you do, steal a library book? What's your name?" Taehyung was a little bit self-conscious in his presence; he constantly felt like he was being judged, assessed, by him.

"Kim Taehyung," he answered, civilly enough. The boy thought for a second, mouthing the name, and Taehyung saw something click in his mind.

"Kim Taehyung? You're the kid that graffitied the science block, right?" Taehyung nodded, pleased to be recognised for his work. "Hm. It's a shame they're painting over it." Taehyung was blushing. Maybe this was a little bit too much recognition.

"Thanks. What's your name?" Taehyung said, awkwardly and the boy smirked.

"Min Yoongi." Taehyung was confused. He hadn't heard that name before and he hadn't even seen the boy around the school. The boy noticed his puzzled expression and added. "I've been suspended for most of this year so far. Tried to burn down the aforementioned science block but I got caught, so I've been in and out of safeguarding and custody and now they've just shoved me in detention. I'm usually the only one in here." Taehyung shuffled uneasily and looked down. This kid had actually done something bad. The silence accentuated the presence of the beat that Yoongi hadn't turned off.

"Did you make this?" he asked, changing the subject. Yoongi nodded and turned it up.

"Yeah, I get hella bored in here all the time, so I just write random stuff." Taehyung didn't know why he was drawn to the boy; Yoongi spoke in a disinterested drawl, dripping heavily in satoori. It was almost hypnotising. Taehyung walked over to the table and sat next to Yoongi. They sat, not speaking for a minute, before Yoongi asked,

"How long are you in here for?" Taehyung didn't know if he was asking out of interest or if he wanted Taehyung to leave.

"Until my parents get here, which is probably about half an hour. I don't know where they're gonna put me after that if I'm honest." Yoongi turned down the loop on his phone which somehow never got old.

"Where do your parents live?" At this point, Taehyung was just talking. He didn't often get the opportunity to make friends and he was starting to regret his little stunt.

"A farm somewhere. I guarantee you wouldn't know it. They sent me here for the discipline, but I got bored and fed-up. I'm supposed to be setting a good example for my little siblings, but I say let them do whatever. My sister really likes art but my parents would never let her do that. No idea why." Taehyung thought that he'd better get rid of the animosity for his parents before they arrived. Yoongi didn't look like he was listening, but he was, apparently.

"You're the oldest? I guess you've got to set the bar. Just don't go too high like my brother did. Perfect academic and then I come along and literally set fire to education." He smiled slightly and Taehyung smiled as well. "Science is bullshit anyway." Taehyung nodded in total agreement. There was a reason he chose the science block to deface rather than the music block. "You just want to get back at your parents though, right? For forcing you to be someone you don't want to be." Taehyung could literally not have put it better himself.

"Exactly! They want me to be so faultless but what's wrong with faults? I can do what I want and handle myself." Taehyung could sense Yoongi stifle a laugh. "Okay, I know I'm only sixteen, but sue me for wanting to live my own goddamn life."

Taehyung stayed talking to Yoongi and complaining about his parents for the better part of twenty-five minutes. Yoongi just listened and understood and related. He was two years older than Taehyung but they had strangely a lot in common: their rebellious nature, their love for rap music, their hatred for science. Taehyung was having a good time until he looked out of the window.

"And that is my dad's car. Damn it, my parents are here." He saw Yoongi watch them walk to the entrance – timing them? That's what it looked like, anyway. After a minute, they heard footsteps come down the corridor and then everything happened very fast.

Taehyung felt Yoongi's fingers entwine with his own on the table. Yoongi shuffled closer and turned Taehyung's head to face him. Yoongi's eyes were pretty but Taehyung didn't have time to admire them properly before he felt a hand on the back of his neck and lips on his. He sank into the kiss, forgetting where he was, who he was and what was happening. Yoongi's lips were soft and his tongue slipped delicately against Taehyung's, awakening thousands of butterflies in Taehyung's stomach. Only a shout dragged him back to reality.

"Kim Taehyung! Here, now!" At the sound of his father's sharp voice, Taehyung was shoved back to the real world. He let go of Yoongi and jumped off the table, blushing hard. He walked to the door where his parents were standing and waiting, looking disappointed. He dared to glance back at Yoongi, who was grinning devilishly. Despite the fact that he was about to get killed by his parents, Taehyung couldn't help but smile back. He left the room and prepared for the worst car journey of his life.

His telling off was exactly as he expected. Nearly. There was the lecture from his father about what a disappointment he was to the family and how stunts like this are going to haunt him and how ashamed he should be of himself. His mother was lighter. She asked what example he was setting for Eon Jin and Jeong-Gyu and how he was expecting to do well at school if he did things like this. Taehyung did feel a little bit bad that his siblings would be disappointed in him. Other than that, he felt no guilt, although he probably should have done. He had no regrets.

After a while of driving in silence, Taehyung's father spoke again.

"Who was the boy?" Taehyung had to hold back his laughter at the obvious discomfort in his voice. Then he realised why Yoongi had kissed him in the first place – to help him get back at his parents. And Taehyung had to admit, that was perfect.

"Min Yoongi. 3rd grade."

"And why was he in detention?"

"He tried to burn down the school and they ran out of places to put him." Taehyung heard his father audibly sigh. Taehyung wasn't trying to get himself killed, he was merely trying to prove a point. And he and Yoongi had made a very good point. "Problem, dad?" From the seat behind, he could see his father's hands grip the steering wheel.

"We'll talk about that later."

The next day, Taehyung walked into school and found he had slightly more attention than before. People no longer shunned him as a nerd, but looked at him curiously, as if he was an enigma. He had been sentenced to detention for five weeks, which he honestly didn't mind. It was nice in the detention room, especially if Yoongi was there. After his last class, Taehyung skipped to his prison and found Yoongi already there.

"Hey," he said and Taehyung could already feel himself blushing. He sat on a different table and swung his legs.

"Hi. How was your day?" Yoongi shrugged and Taehyung assumed that that was his answer. It was uncomfortably quiet until Yoongi said,

"Did I piss off your parents?" Taehyung laughed and told him about his drive home. Yoongi smiled. "I knew that would work. Sorry if you weren't expecting it, I didn't know if you'd say yes." Taehyung bit his lip.

"N-no it was fine." He wasn't going to tell Yoongi what he had realised last night: that had been his first kiss. Ever. And even though he knew it didn't mean anything, it was just an act of rebellion, Taehyung couldn't shake the feeling that it was special. He pulled a half-eaten bar of chocolate out of his pocket and started to finish it. Yoongi rolled his eyes.

"You eat way too much chocolate." Taehyung was confused. Since when did Yoongi monitor the eating habits of a first-grader? He was sure he hadn't ever eaten in front of him. He managed to stutter out probably the first letter of the question before Yoongi answered, "Taehyung, I could literally taste it on you." Taehyung choked quietly. Certain that he was blushing, Taehyung looked up and could tell that Yoongi was trying to suppress laughter.

Yoongi's phone buzzed and he checked the message. He frowned and sighed before putting it away. "That's my brother, he's got permission to pick me up today." He jumped off his table. "Well, see you tomorrow, I guess." As Yoongi walked to the door, Taehyung did something very un-Taehyung-like. He slid off the table and took Yoongi's wrist, spinning him around so they were facing each other. Taehyung leaned in and kissed him again. This time, there was more feeling, more meaning fuelling it and it was so much deeper.

To Taehyung's immense surprise, Yoongi didn't immediately retract. Instead, he lightly brushed his fingers up Taehyung's arm and settled his arm around the younger's shoulder. Taehyung did not mind. He threaded his fingers through Yoongi's soft, dark hair and pushed closer. Yoongi gently pulled back and looked intensely into Taehyung's eyes, locking him in place.

"You're lucky I like chocolate," he smiled before kissing Taehyung again and leaving the room. Taehyung stared after him. He had never kissed anyone or come anywhere near a relationship before, so he had no idea where this left them at all. He just lay on the tables, thinking about Yoongi until 6 pm rolled around and he was dismissed to go home.

"Taehyung!" The call came from downstairs and Taehyung stepped anxiously out of his room. He hadn't spoken properly with his parents since the car home the day before and he sensed what was coming. They were sitting at the dining room table and gestured for him to sit down.

"Now, Taehyung, we want you to know that we do support you and we want you to have the best life possible," his mother reassured him. His father looked less encouraging.

"You cannot have that life if you continue with that boy. He is a bad influence on you and we don't want you to see him again." So they didn't know that Taehyung had only met him half an hour prior to the kiss. That was probably for the best, though.

"Dad, I'm in detention with him every day for the next five weeks. What do you want me to do, ignore him completely?" Taehyung rolled his eyes. He sort of liked being a rebellious teenager. His mother smiled sadly at him.

"Honey, we just think you'd be better off with a nice girl, maybe in your year?" Ah. So they didn't entirely hate Yoongi for his actions, they disliked his gender as well. Great. Taehyung's resolve was wearing down under the sharp gaze of his parents, so instead of objecting, he sighed and nodded. Taehyung slunk back to his room, his sister smiling cutely at him as they passed on the stairs.

Min Yoongi was drenched from the rain and pacing around Taehyung's room. Taehyung stifled a gasp and shut the door behind him. Before he could ask anything at all, Yoongi explained,

"I sort of had a fight with my dad and ran away from home. I knew no one else would want me so I kept running. I saw this place and thought _who do I know that lives on an obscure farm in the middle of nowhere? _You can chuck me out if you want, I just need somewhere to wait out the storm." As if on cue, a roll of thunder swept through the sky. Taehyung said,

"You can crash here tonight, I don't mind. Just keep it down, or my parents will kick both of us out." Yoongi grinned and ran a hand through damp hair, distracting Taehyung for a second. "You came in through the window, right? How did you know this was my room?" Yoongi shrugged.

"I mean I wasn't 100% sure this was your house. But I figured cleanest bedroom in the house, gotta be yours." Taehyung smiled. There was a knock at his door and Taehyung signalled for Yoongi to hide. He opened the door to see his confused little brother looking up at him. Jeong-Gyu didn't say anything for a second but then smiled,

"Yes, hyung, I swear I won't tell dad you're hiding someone in your room," and walked away. Taehyung rolled his eyes. His brother was so cheeky sometimes. He shut the door and turned back to Yoongi who now had Taehyung's full attention. His hair was messy and wet from the rain, as were his clothes. His skin was pale and beautiful and highlighted his dark eyes perfectly. Yoongi must have noticed him staring because he moved closer. A lot closer.

"Thanks for letting me stay here," he whispered and Taehyung practically melted. He might have fallen if Yoongi's hands weren't wrapping around his waist. Taehyung instinctively looped his arms around Yoongi's neck and the older boy smirked before kissing him deeply. It wasn't like Taehyung had any experience making out with anyone but he swore he could kiss Yoongi all night. And as Yoongi led him back to his bed, he thought he just might.

When Taehyung woke up, he was entangled in Yoongi's arms, his body keeping him warm. It seems his parents hadn't checked in on him after he fell asleep. He looked over Yoongi's sleeping face and thought that it must be illegal for anyone to look that good this early in the morning. Taehyung couldn't help himself from smiling widely as Yoongi breathed softly on his neck and shuffled closer. The only thought running through Taehyung's mind was how much he was looking forward to being in detention.


	27. Chapter 27 - Namkook

**This was insanely cute to write ngl Namkook is my otp**

(2nd Grade)

"Jungkook, your room is an absolute mess," were Namjoon's first words that morning. He had only gone into the younger's room to see if he had stolen his jacket, and was instead confronted with a barn house. There were clothes _everywhere_. Paper littered the floor for no reason; when did they ever need to write that much stuff down? There were empty and not empty packets of food, bowls of things and it made Namjoon feel extremely uneasy. So he went to the main room to confront him.

"Yeah? And? It's my room?" Jungkook responded. He could be such a brat sometimes. Namjoon rolled his eyes fondly and sighed so Jungkook could hear.

"Do you have plans today?" he asked and Jungkook instantly looked up, concerned.

"Are you gonna make me cancel them?" he questioned, sounding panicked. He looked so distraught that Namjoon couldn't help but smile at how cute that was.

"Actually, no. If you didn't have plans, I was going to make you get some. I'm going to clean your room; you'd do it badly." Jungkook instantly relaxed and went back to his phone.

"Oh, okay. Good luck, hyung," he drawled and Namjoon walked off, mumbling about the lack of appreciation in this house.

The first thing he did was collect all the bowls and plates and things from the floor and the desk. No wonder they had no crockery ever; it was all being hoarded in Jungkook's room. He threw away empty cans, ramen packets, chocolate wrappers, milk cartons until the bin was totally stuffed. Namjoon had no idea how hard Jungkook must have to work on his body to keep it that good if he ate all this junk.

An hour later, and Namjoon was getting somewhere. Jungkook had so many clothes and almost all of them were dirty and/or disgusting. He estimated that there were approximately three loads of washing on the floor alone. A lot of the paper was blank; some of it had rough sketches of random things on it; some had pretty good attempts at English handwriting. Namjoon couldn't help but feel a swell of pride at that.

An hour after that and most of the room was clear. He changed the sheets on the bed, as well as the pillow and duvet cases. He stacked everything in neat piles, put books back on shelves, collected pens. As Namjoon moved the chair back over to the desk, he found yet more money. He could swear Jungkook just threw this stuff around.

An hour after _that_, Namjoon was nearly done. He was about to go and find appreciation for his hard work when he remembered: under the bed. Cringing at the thought of such a dark, dank place, Namjoon got on his hands and knees.

More candy wrappers, more money, more pens, a deflated football (?), a box that Namjoon didn't touch for the sake of privacy. He sorted everything and took one last look to make sure it was tidy. It wasn't. There was a notebook or something that he hadn't seen before. He picked it up and was instantly curious. He felt bad for wanting to pry, but he had worked hard. Did he deserve to look?

Cautiously, as if it would set off an alarm, Namjoon opened it. It was entirely possible that it was just song lyrics or Japanese notes, but he somehow got the feeling that it wasn't just that. The first page was blank. As was the next. Namjoon flicked through, finding it empty. Until he found something else. In handwriting that didn't look entirely like Jungkook's was written,

_Hey diary,_

_I've never had a journal or anything before but I've heard it's good to keep one. It helps you organise your thoughts or something. Suga-hyung told me that you should never start diaries at the start, so that people don't realise it's a diary but what if someone just flicks through? I'll just keep it secret so no one ever finds it._

_This is my first entry, I guess? I don't really know what to write. I wonder if future me would ever read through and think about how small I seem compared to him. I wonder if future me will be bigger._

_130716_

A diary. Makes sense. The first couple of pages were still blank, but the rest of it looked pretty worn and used. Namjoon wasn't surprised. _130716_. That was ages ago. Just after their debut and Jungkook kept the diary? Again, for the sake of privacy, Namjoon decided not to look any further. He went to put the diary back under the bed but something fell out.

It was a photocard of him. An old one. Dark & Wild if he remembered his own hair correctly. Confused as to why 17-year-old Jungkook had a photocard of him, he flipped it over. More of Jungkook's old writing said,

_Rapmon-hyung came out really good in the photoshoot. Look at him. He's so pretty but also really, like, mysterious? There's something about him that just looks so good…_

Namjoon smiled. Little Jungkook was so adorable. There was a date in the corner and Namjoon opened the book again to find the corresponding place for it. He flicked too far and was about to go back when something caught his eye.

_I want to confess to Namjoon-hyung today. Or at least try. Let's face it, we've been here before. This is the third time I've said this, but I swear I'll do it today. I know I wrote that note for him last year; I still have it. And I said I'd do it two months ago when we released the album. But every time I get close to him, I can't breathe. He's. So. Hot. Like. How does he exist? He takes my breath away and I can't confess. I'll really try to do it today._

_150923_

This would be an excellent time to stop reading. Did Namjoon stop reading? No. No, he did not. He flicked a few pages forward.

_Happy New Year! Good things are going to come out of this year, I just know it. Maybe I'll even confess to Namjoon-hyung this year. That's what I want to do in 2016. I'm still small but I know I can do it. I'm turning 19. That's so old. Well, I suppose Jin-hyung's 24. Admirable. Namjoon-hyung is 22. A beautiful age. Every age he is he's beautiful. I'll do it this year. Promise._

_160101  
_

_This has turned into a diary for all the times I swear I'm going to tell Namjoon-hyung I like him. It's harder than it sounds, okay? I mean, what if he rejects me? That would ruin everything and I kind of don't want to do that 3 years into our career. I really want to tell him, though. I want to be brave._

_160520  
_

_It's my birthday. He gave me such a nice present and I hugged him extra tight so he could feel how much he means to me. I really wanted to kiss him but what else is new? He's just so pretty all the time. Like, _all_ the time. Even without makeup. He's way more handsome than Jin-hyung. I love him._

_160901_

Flustered but still insanely curious, Namjoon flicked to the last written page.

_We're back here again. This has been going on for like 4 years and I'm exhausted. But I'm proud of myself. I haven't told anyone, not even Taehyungie-hyung. Do you know who else I haven't told? Namjoon-hyung. I really want to. I want to kiss him and cuddle him and do things that boyfriends do. I think about him all the time and every time we talk I just want to hang off him. Let everyone know I'm his. Because, even if he doesn't know it, I am._

_190819_

That was about a week ago. Thinking that this was all a bit much, Namjoon shut the book and put it on the desk neatly. He still had the photocard in his hand. Without really knowing why, he slid it into his pocket and left the room. Jungkook was lying on the couch on his phone, back from wherever he had gone.

"Jungkook, your room is now habitable," he called. Jungkook's eyes lit up and Namjoon didn't know if that was because he was thankful or because he had been spoken to. He had a few different opinions of Jungkook now. The maknae just smiled brightly.

"Thanks, hyung!" he chirped and ran into his room to inspect it. He passed Namjoon a little bit closer than he needed to. Namjoon scolded himself for overthinking. There was nothing different about Jungkook; he had always been the same. _Smitten_. This time, Namjoon actually slapped himself. There was nothing he could do except be normal. He couldn't push Jungkook into confessing, even if it had taken him four years already.

He sat on the couch, trying to distract himself with his phone, but to no avail. Out of everything he was feeling, it was mainly pride for Jungkook. Good on him for being able to keep this secret for such a long time. Jungkook's door opened.

"Hyung…?" he asked, sounding afraid and looking nervous. "You know that notebook on my desk?" he asked carefully. Namjoon hummed in confirmation. Jungkook didn't look any less apprehensive. "Did anything… fall out of it?" He swallowed. Namjoon just thought and then reached into his pocket, taking out the photocard and holding it up.

"This?" he offered, knowing full well that was exactly what he was looking for. Jungkook reached forward to take it, panicked, but Namjoon moved it out of reach. "No. Be brave, then you can have it," he told him. Jungkook stared at him but Namjoon kept his resolve.

"Hyung…" Jungkook pleaded quietly, so anxious and so frustrated. Namjoon just tilted his head. Not able to say anything else, Jungkook swept back to his room and shut the door. Feeling a little bit guilty, Namjoon put the card back in his pocket. He convinced himself that this would be good for Jungkook. He would have to be brave and face this.

Maybe not. Jungkook didn't resurface until dinner, during which he didn't say a word to Namjoon. He ate quickly and returned swiftly to his room. At least he had a clean space to be in now, Namjoon thought.

"Does anyone know what's up with Jungkook?" Seokjin asked, clearing the plates. Namjoon stayed guiltily silent.

"No, he was fine this morning," Jimin recalled. "Did something happen? He's really off." Taehyung stood up,

"I'll go talk to him," he offered but Namjoon sprang to his feet.

"No, it's okay, I'll do it. I'll tell you if something's seriously wrong," he said, despite knowing exactly what was wrong. Taehyung shrugged and let him go so Namjoon walked to Jungkook's room and shut the door behind him.

Jungkook was sat curled up on his bed, his face buried safely in his knees. He didn't look up at the sound of the door. His room looked almost untouched since Namjoon had tidied it and he wondered if this was all Jungkook had done for the whole day. Until he saw the diary on the floor on the other side of the room where, presumably, Jungkook had thrown it.

"Jungkook?" Namjoon tried. No response. "Talk to me, please?" Jungkook shook his head. It was difficult to believe he was twenty-two. Namjoon went to sit on the side of the bed and watched Jungkook shuffle away slightly. "I'm sorry, Jungkook." This worked. Jungkook's head rose and his slightly puffy eyes met Namjoon's for a split second.

"Why are you sorry?" he spat, "This is my fault." Namjoon smiled reassuringly and Jungkook did not return it.

"What on earth make you think this is your fault?" he posed and Jungkook rolled his eyes and crossed his legs.

"I'm the one who wrote the stupid diary. I'm the one who made you clean my room, I'm the one who made you find it and I'm the one who fucking fell in love with you. I don't know how you could possibly tell me that this isn't my fault." He stood up and walked towards the door. Namjoon didn't know where he was going to go but he couldn't let him leave. He grabbed his wrist and Jungkook threw him off. "Don't fucking touch me!" he said louder than necessary and Namjoon was concerned the others might hear.

"Why not?" he asked calmly and Jungkook took a step back.

"Did you not read my diary? Because it makes me breathless! Because it makes my heart race and my mouth go dry. I don't want to be here because I don't want that to happen every single fucking time you walk into the room. I can't do this right now." He turned away just as a tear dropped down his cheek but Namjoon took his arm again.

"No, Jungkook, you have to. You can't run away from this," he pleaded and Jungkook hit his hand away.

"Why, why not?" he asked defiantly. "All I'm doing is giving you more time to think about just what you're doing to me." He swiped at his eyes, trying to pretend he wasn't crying. Namjoon couldn't let that go.

"Jungkook, why are you crying?" he inquired slowly, trying to let Jungkook breathe. Jungkook just pulled at his hair and moved away again.

"Because you haven't rejected me yet! I know that that's what this conversation is leading up to and I know that's how this is going to end and I hate myself for still having hope when I know that it doesn't exist. It's just going to kill me more because you're still not rejecting me!" he let himself sob. Namjoon clenched his fists, not being able to handle this much emotion coming from Jungkook.

"Exactly. I haven't rejected you," he pointed out and Jungkook just looked at him.

"W-what?" he asked, startled. Namjoon breathed. _Be brave and help him_, his brain told him. So he stepped forwards, gently touched Jungkook's neck and kissed him. As carefully and as softly as he could. This was a way to fix a breaking Jungkook. He was also insanely pretty. That too. He pulled back slowly, the silence in the room so loud after the crying. Jungkook was frozen, staring at Namjoon in speechless awe, just like the first time.

"Jungkook, I…" he started, having no idea how to finish that sentence. Jungkook blinked.

"Hyung…" he whispered back. The mood had shifted; the tone was quieter. Jungkook wrapped his arms around Namjoon's waist and hugged him tightly. Namjoon knew that Jungkook could hear his heartbeat and he didn't care that it was so quick. He held Jungkook closely, trying to keep him just there, wondering if he could stay forever, if this moment could replay for eternity; a moment of peace against a background of defensive fights.

"Guys? You okay?" the voice came before the knock on the door. "We heard some… loud talking. Is everything under control?" It was Hoseok asking. Jungkook didn't let go of Namjoon but called back,

"Yeah. Yeah, we're good." Namjoon smiled and kissed the top of Jungkook's head, making him hum.

"Okay, as long as you're both okay," Hoseok said, the decreasing volume indicating his departure from the door. Jungkook looked up at Namjoon, his sparkly brown eyes making Namjoon never want to look at anything else.

"Hyung, can I…" he trailed off, shy. Namjoon beamed at him and pushed Jungkook's soft brown hair out of his face.

"Can you what, baby?" he asked softly. Jungkook hugged him again, tighter, like a child holding a stuffed toy.

"Can I keep you? Really?" he requested innocently, only a hint of fear in his voice betraying his anxiety.

"You can keep me for as long as you want, Kookie," Namjoon assured him and Jungkook giggled into his chest, his hands tracing small lines in Namjoon's back.

"I want you forever."


	28. Chapter 28 - Jinkook Round 2

**I archived this for a while but it's not as bad as I thought it was I guess**

(Miss Right)

Seokjin was getting tired of all the delays. They were supposed to be leaving for a photo shoot in ten minutes and no one was ready. They had been trying to get ready for over twenty minutes but things kept getting in the way, like Jimin getting distracted by Instagram or Yoongi falling back to sleep. It was exhausting trying to deal with them all. Finally, finally, it seemed that they could nearly leave.

A sudden chill found its way through the city earlier that morning, so Seokjin demanded everyone take their coats, despite the fact that they weren't staying in the city for long. Namjoon's coat was missing. A collective groan was let out from everyone; all of them were frustrated with the delays by this point. Jungkook rolled back onto the sofa and turned his phone back on, Taehyung started emptying one of the closets to search for the coat and Yoongi would have gone back to his room if Jimin hadn't stopped him.

"Found it!" Taehyung shouted and a half-hearted cheer went up. The others lined up by the front door. Well, six of them did. Seokjin rolled his eyes.

"Jungkook, come on!" His eyes were glued to his phone and he was slouched across the couch, chewing gum. He was 22 now, but he still acted like a teenager most of the time. He flicked his gaze upward.

"Coming, babe," he replied nonchalantly, standing up and throwing on his jacket. Um. Everyone stared at him. Jungkook noticed this collective scrutiny and paused. "What?" The others looked amongst themselves and tried not to laugh. Taehyung broke first and started giggling uncontrollably.

"Jungkook, you just called Jin-hyung 'babe'!" Hoseok explained. Jungkook thought back and blushed.

"N-no I didn't," Everyone disagreed with him loudly. "Okay, well I meant hyung, so can we leave now please?" He was so flustered and it made the others hug him and walk him out of the door, promising never to let him forget that. It was a fun car ride. No one addressed anyone by their names, only terms of endearment. Jungkook looked like he wanted to die and Seokjin didn't blame him. He didn't say anything for the whole journey, just stayed at his phone and blocked everyone else out unsuccessfully.

The car arrived at the destination and they stepped out, examining the set. It was a pretty field with a clear stream running beside it. There was a gazebo with lights around it that would be illuminated when it got darker. For now, it was just the individual shots on the grass and by the river. Jungkook went first and Seokjin admired his ability to calm down completely and stay cool while the photos were being taken. It was incredibly bright and hot and wearing a full suit in this heat wasn't helping. At least it was a white jacket.

When Jungkook's shooting was over, it was his dual shots with Taehyung. They both knew that the photos would drive shippers crazy and they really got into it by the end. Seokjin felt something that felt like jealousy but he ignored it since it was his turn next. He tried his best not to squint at the sun and not to overheat in his black waistcoat. Lying on the cool grass was gratefully accepted as a pose.

Something went wrong with the camera equipment and they were told to take a break after only forty-five minutes of shooting. Yoongi fell asleep in the hot air and Jimin and Hoseok messed with him a little. You could never sleep while the others were awake; it was a big mistake and everyone knew it. Jungkook was sitting on the floor, still on his phone, still not talking to anyone. Seokjin wondered if that morning got to him more than they thought. He sat down next to Jungkook.

"What you doing?" he asked. No reply. "Babe," he implored. Jungkook flushed red and smiled slightly.

"I hate you." Seokjin grinned and lay down, resting his head in Jungkook's lap. He looked up at Jungkook, his head providing welcome shade from the sun.

"Love you too, sweetheart." Jungkook kept his attention on his phone and didn't respond. "Am I allowed to ask what that was about?" Jungkook's eyes glanced at him for a second before returning to the screen.

"It was a mistake. Just a blip. Can we drop it please?" Seokjin knew his maknae well enough to see that he was faking his smile, that he was avoiding eye contact on purpose.

"Jungkook-ah, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, hyung." Seokjin wasn't convinced. He got up, leaving Jungkook alone, and quietly passed the message to the others to stop with the whole 'babe' thing. Being responsible hyungs, they did. Well, they didn't, but they didn't do it around Jungkook at least. They were children but they cared for each other. Evening fell and most of the day shoots were over. After dinner, the seven of them went back to the field and saw the gazebo lit up with blue and purple lights against the dark night. It was beautiful.

The final shots didn't take long. Everyone was tired and they wanted to go to sleep. Jungkook hadn't spoken much and Seokjin felt sorry for him. He knew what it was like to be laughed at. Their room for the night was on the edge of the field, quiet and secluded. Even so, Seokjin couldn't sleep. It was perfect conditions for sleeping, too. Slightly annoyed that he couldn't just rest like everyone else, he went down to the kitchen to see if there was any leftover food. He passed Jungkook's room on the way and saw the door standing ajar. The room was empty.

Jungkook was nowhere to be found on the ground floor so Seokjin went outside to look for him, all thoughts of food evaporated from his mind. He walked outside and along the river. It was a warm night and Seokjin thought that even if he didn't find Jungkook, he was still grateful for the fresh air after the humid, cloying day. He looked towards the gazebo, still glowing purple, and saw a silhouette moving inside – Jungkook. Seokjin sped up, glad to have found him.

Jungkook was just sitting on one of the benches, kicking at the ground. He was staring at the wooden panelling, seemingly deep in thought. As Seokjin moved closer, he could see that Jungkook was crying. _Shit_. Seokjin couldn't stand seeing one of his members crying, especially Jungkook. It took a lot to make Jungkook cry, which is why usually only talking about ARMY could do it. But Jungkook was crying by himself, alone, at night. Privately. Secretly. Seokjin didn't realise he had run the last few metres.

The crying boy looked up at the noise and then back down again. He hastily wiped away the tears rolling down his face and smiled at Seokjin. What was strange was that it was a genuine smile. As if something had made him laugh. Before Seokjin could ask why he was crying, Jungkook said,

"Hyung, I'm fine, I swear. It's… it's so ridiculous. I never thought I would cry over this." Seokjin was confused. Jungkook was clearly sad but he was happy at the same time.

"I don't understand. Why are you crying?" Jungkook looked up and took a deep breath. His face shone beautifully under the lights. He paused for a moment before answering.

"Yeah, okay. You." Seokjin froze. Him?

"Jungkook, I… if this is about this morning, I'm really sorry and- " he was cut off by Jungkook chuckling slightly.

"No, it's not…" Jungkook turned to face him. "I don't understand you. I don't know how you can be so…perfect. I mean, you're the best hyung any of us could ever ask for. You ran over here when you saw me crying, you told everyone to stop teasing me when you saw that I didn't like it, you always make sure I eat properly and I don't work too hard. I know you've got your own stuff going on but you always stop to check I'm okay. I think that's why…" He paused. "I think that's why I like you. You're so kind and funny and amazing. You're handsome as hell and you always know how to cheer me up by just existing. I find it incredible and I can't help but love you for it."

Seokjin thought that maybe it was the combination of the night, the warm air and the soft lights, the gentle breeze and the quiet river, the pure love and truth of the words, the beauty of the boy in front of him. It was all of this that gave him the courage to kiss Jungkook. It was soft, careful, but passionate and Seokjin couldn't imagine wanting anything else more than he wanted this.

"Holy shit." A voice came from outside the hut and split the two of them apart like the identical poles of a magnet. They both looked in panic at the speaker and saw a familiar face smiling excitedly. "Aw, Kookie, you did it! I'm so happy for you, oh my god that's so cute!" squealed Taehyung. Seokjin looked over at Jungkook, whose face was flushed with pride and embarrassment. Seokjin smiled,

"He knew the whole time?" Jungkook nodded, not making eye contact. Taehyung laughed,

"You have no idea how funny this morning was, I was dying! We were just talking about it last night as well! Didn't I always tell you Jin-hyung would like you back? Jungkookie, tell me I'm the best…" Seokjin stopped listening after a minute. He didn't really process everything that had happened in the last ten minutes but he knew one thing for certain. He had no regrets and he was happy. In his mind, that was all that mattered.


	29. Chapter 29 - Taegi (sort of)

**Why did I think of this when I heard Reflection? No idea. Does it exist now? Yes it does. Do I like it? Ngl, I kinda do. Enjoy!**

(Reflection)

It had been a long day. Jimin got back from the studio with the rest of everyone and immediately lay on the couch. He had been intending to scroll through Twitter for a while, but he was so tired that he couldn't bring himself to switch on his phone. He heard almost everyone else go into their respective rooms, equally as spent.

Jimin blinked his eyes open momentarily and saw Taehyung sitting on one of the other chairs, on his phone. Jimin decided that he was being quiet enough. He made up his mind that he could not be bothered to move to his room; it wouldn't be the first time he slept on the couch anyways. He shut his eyes and relaxed, ready to just drop into sleep.

"Jiminie?" Taehyung's voice shattered Jimin's perfect darkness. Jimin didn't want to answer. He was too tired and if it was that important, Taehyung would have woken him up by now. So Jimin stayed exactly where he was, feigning unconsciousness. "Hyung?" Taehyung asked again. Jimin figured he would keep asking and opened his mouth to reply.

"Yeah, Tae?" Yoongi answered before Jimin had the chance. Jimin hadn't even known Yoongi was there. Strangely, Taehyung didn't say anything. "Did you want something or were you calling Jimin? Cause I think he's asl- "

"Are you gay?" Taehyung interrupted him. An odd question. Jimin realised that he probably should have answered him the first time. Jimin had come out to everyone last year and, apparently, that had made him the LGBTQ+ representative of the whole group. Essentially, if anyone had any questions or queries about anything gay, Jimin would happily be there to provide the answers.

"Uhm, w-what?" Yoongi stuttered, confused at the interruption. Jimin was tempted to just wake up now and see what Taehyung wanted but he was also curious to see how Yoongi would handle whatever Taehyung threw at him.

"Well, Jimin's gay, but he's asleep," Taehyung answered nonchalantly.

"Oh. What did you need a gay person for other than the general life-brightening?" Yoongi asked and Jimin tried to hide his smile. All thoughts of going to sleep had left his mind and now he just wanted to see where this was going.

"Well… I think I might be gay, but I'm not sure. I thought Jimin would know." Jimin really regretted not waking up when he should have. As casual as this conversation was, sexuality could be very confusing and, in Jimin's case, torturous. He wanted to be there for Taehyung. While internally debating whether to sit up now, Jimin heard Yoongi ask,

"Why do you think you're gay?" There was a pause before Taehyung replied,

"Guys are hot." Honest mood. Jimin was proud of Taehyung for so quickly admitting what it had taken him years to figure out. Yoongi laughed softly.

"Yup, sounds pretty gay to me." Jimin listened for Taehyung's reply, but it didn't happen for a few seconds. He was sure that something visual had happened and was about to open his eyes to see when Taehyung coughed,

"I was sort of hoping for some more… conclusive evidence? This is why I needed Jimin," he mumbled the last bit. Jimin was confused, as was Yoongi.

"What do you mean 'conclusive?'" he asked and Taehyung didn't answer. Oh. _Oh_. Jimin and Yoongi realised at the same time. "Oh, you mean…" Yoongi let the silence speak for him. Taehyung sighed, sounding a little bit exasperated. It had been a long day after all.

"Yes, hyung, I was gonna see if Jimin would let me kiss him. Can you just say it's weird and forget about it? Please?" There was a certain bite to his voice that made Jimin feel guilty. The room descended into awkward silence for a while. Jimin wouldn't have been against kissing Taehyung if it would help him figure himself out. Now it was uncomfortable because Taehyung had spoken out and Jimin wanted to fix it.

"I mean…" Yoongi said quietly after a while. Jimin listened to what he had to say. "I could help you out," he offered. Jimin was still confused but didn't say anything. Was Yoongi really prepared to do this just because Taehyung wanted to? In all fairness, that's what Jimin would have done.

"Really?" Taehyung asked, a little brighter than before but with an element of surprise in his voice that was to be expected. Jimin heard Yoongi stand up from where he was sitting and move across the room.

"Sure. I mean, it's not _that_ weird, right? It's just two friends… figuring something out." Jimin wasn't entirely sure Yoongi was trying to convince Taehyung; rather himself.

"Hyung, you don't have to," Taehyung said but Yoongi refuted,

"No, it's okay, I want to. Besides, it'd kill two birds with one stone. It saves us _both_ kissing Jimin." Jimin didn't know whether to be offended by that or not. Taehyung let out a small laugh, clearly nervous. He took a deep breath.

"Ready?" he asked, and Yoongi presumably nodded because there was silence for a minute. There was the occasional ruffle of clothes or breath through the nose. Jimin opened his eyes briefly, curious. He saw exactly what he expected. Taehyung and Yoongi standing close, holding hands, lips connected. It was a little bit strange for Jimin to see his brothers like this but he stayed still.

After a minute, they pulled apart and Jimin snapped his eyes shut again. After a breath, Yoongi asked simply,

"Gay?" It made Jimin want to laugh.

"Yup," Taehyung responded in a slightly higher pitch than usual. "You?" he asked. Yoongi was a touch cooler.

"I think so. I mean, I'm not sure. I guess I wouldn't mind kissing a guy again. Let's see if Jimin wakes up. That kid has the most incredible gaydar, I swear to god." Anxious to speak again and finally talk to his friends about this, Jimin took that as his cue to wake up. He yawned, sat up, stretched and said with mock sleepiness,

"I heard people complimenting my gaydar, what's up?" he looked at the pair, now standing casually next to each other as if nothing had happened. Taehyung was a little bit flushed and Jimin wanted to smile. Yoongi laughed and asked,

"Do you think either of us could be gay?" Jimin pretended to think. In reality, he had all the information he needed from 6 years and the previous conversation, but he faked hesitation so they wouldn't figure out he had been awake.

"Well…" he hummed. "Tae, I feel like… yeah, almost definitely. Hyung… I don't know. I feel like you just wouldn't care about something as trivial as gender as long as they're nice." He prophesied. "Predictions may not be 100% accurate. Please consult own feelings." He added as a disclaimer and both laughed.

"Okay, I'm gonna go to bed," Taehyung announced, "It's been a long day. Thanks, hyung." He added before going to his room Jimin lay back down on the couch, still planning to sleep there while it was warm. Yoongi just laughed,

"I know you were awake, Jimin. No one wakes up that conveniently." Jimin was too tired to argue.

"Yeah. Thanks for helping him out, you did a good job. Night, hyung. Have fun contemplating your sexuality." At this, Yoongi just smiled and left Jimin by himself. Jimin fell asleep quickly, pleased he had helped out his friends.


	30. Chapter 30 - Hopekook Round 2

**Here's a long one bc I feel guilty for not updating for ages :)**

(We On)

Hoseok didn't usually like bragging about things. However, he did take a selfish kind of pleasure in lording his awards over a certain Jeon Jungkook. Often, he wasn't even that proud; it was an easy win or they didn't deserve it. But Hoseok would do anything to win over Jungkook. He needed to be put into his place and Hoseok believed that he was in the correct position to do that.

Hoseok and Jungkook went to the same high school. Strangely enough, that's not where most of their interactions took place. They were the heads of rival dance crews and that was more than enough to make them enemies. Hoseok had formed Neuron two years ago with a few of his friends. It was a bit of a joke until they actually started doing well. The line-up grew and changed and now Hoseok was the head of a troupe of nine. They went to competitions and placed in the top three most times.

After a year of Neuron, they were at a competition that they were almost guaranteed to win. Other opponents were shaky and poor and Hoseok was already booking reservations at his team's usual pizza place. They didn't even go to watch the other performances. The time came to announce the result and Hoseok was confident.

"And in first place… Bangtan Sonyeondan!" Hoseok froze. That was not the name he was expecting. That was not a name he had even heard of before. They must be rookies or amateurs. And as they stepped up onto the stage to collect their award, Hoseok saw that was exactly what they were. The leader didn't look older than fourteen. What a cocky little prick.

And Hoseok was, of course, far more irritated when Jungkook joined his school the following year. They recognised each other and despised each other. Most times, Hoseok didn't win for himself or for his team; he won simply to beat Jungkook. The only problem was that Jungkook had similar ideas.

It was the morning after they had narrowly snatched a win from Bangtan and all of Hoseok's team were taunting any of Jungkook's troupe they could find. Hoseok was just relaxing, bathing in glory and smugness when one of his members approached him.

"Hyung, I was thinking about something. Why don't we hold a dance-off, just us and them? We wouldn't have to worry about any of the other teams; we'd just have to beat them," Jimin told him. Hoseok thought this through for a second, a grin forming on his face.

"That is an excellent idea, Park Jimin. I'm gonna have to start paying you soon," he joked and Jimin scoffed.

"You'd better. I've covered for two of the last three celebration dinners."

Later at lunch, Hoseok found Jungkook and greeted him the only way he knew how. He shoved him so hard the boy almost fell over.

"Jeon! Dance-off."

"Fucking hell… now?" Jungkook scowled and Hoseok shrugged.

"I was gonna say next Thursday but yeah, I could go for now. Get your crew," he ordered, walking off to tell his group. He heard Jungkook let out a shrill whistle, summoning his team. Hoseok was somewhat jealous of that, wishing on some level that he could just do that and have Neuron at his side. But no. He had to use his stupid legs and walk to them like a normal person. Gross.

"Guys, freestyle dance-off against Bangtan. Right now," he told the few who were gathered. There was a choral groan and moans of 'my feet hurt' and 'I'm too tired for this' and 'I'm not ready'. Some followed and a few ran off to fetch the others. They walked to the middle of the playground where Jungkook and his six teammates were gathered.

"So, how are we doing this?" Jungkook huffed, jaw locked. Hoseok thought.

"One on one. I've got more people than you so I'll use one to provide the beat and I guess one of yours will have to go twice. Everyone gets 32 beats each. Jun-ah! Give us a beat!" he called and Yeonjun immediately stepped to the side and started beatboxing quickly. Everyone chose their order and a few students gathered in a crowd. This had never happened before.

Hoseok and Jungkook were both going last. It only occurred to Hoseok around the 4th dancer that he had never actually seen Jungkook dance before. Not properly, at least. He had only seen him doing quick and brief run-throughs with his crew before contests. Other than that, he had prevented himself from watching Jungkook dance. It was dumb to be scared of him so Hoseok forced himself to focus.

The last of Neuron had performed with all of his energy and Hoseok congratulated him. Yeonjun stopped to take a breath before the final battle started. A lot of people were gathered now and they were giving the dancers a wide berth. As it turned out, lucky for them.

Yeonjun hyped up the crowd and started again, this time with a quicker, more complex beat. It took a second for Hoseok and Jungkook to adjust to it before Jungkook slid to the floor. Hoseok started counting subconsciously. Then Jungkook actually started dancing. An intricate floor routine and then a backward roll into a handstand, which he delicately flipped down from. Hoseok was literally in shock. That took so much control and muscle strength and Jungkook hadn't even planned this. Hoseok refrained from complimenting Jungkook as much as possible but holy hell that was amazing.

He was so caught up with this skill that he only just noticed that Jungkook had four beats left. A jump, a spin and a hand through his hair and he was done. Most of the audience was smitten and Hoseok cracked his neck. He would get them back onside by doing what he did best. He danced.

Freestyle wasn't Hoseok's immediate strong suit but he was still good at it. Levels, twists, body rolls, hip thrusts, everything he could do in 32 beats to let him beat Jungkook. One tiny slip up. Right near the end, six beats to go, he caught Jungkook's eye. Motherfucker was _smirking_ at him. Hoseok didn't know why that distracted him so much but he tripped. Instincts immediately kicking in, he spun to the floor, landed in the coolest pose he could think of and, last beat, winked at a random girl in the crowd, who literally swooned. Nailed it.

Their audience whooped and applauded. The two teams gathered in the middle to hear the consensus. Hoseok spoke first.

"Everyone who wants to vote, shut your eyes. Kay, hands up for Neuron to win." He and Jungkook counted the hands, making absolutely sure they got the same number. Twenty-three.

"Cool, and hands up for Bangtan Sonyeondan," Jungkook announced. Hoseok counted. And again. Twenty-three. "No fucking way. Everyone, it's a tie!" The crowd groaned, obviously hoping for a more dramatic result.

"We're so having a rematch next week," Hoseok hissed and Jungkook chuckled,

"Choreographed or nah?"

"Half and half," Hoseok decided, telling his team. "You decide how to play it." And, without a handshake or a formal goodbye, Hoseok walked away. Jungkook did the same.

As Hoseok walked through the corridors, he found himself replaying Jungkook's dance sequence. It was so fluid and agile. Did Jungkook always dance like that? Hoseok wanted to see more. What? No, he didn't, he told himself. He's your enemy. But he was definitely incredibly skilled. The grace and yet the power of his movements was unrivalled. The way his eyes raked through the crowd was no joke either. And when he did the handstand and shirt slipped down just a little bit-

Hoseok stopped dead in his tracks. What the hell was wrong with him? Yes, Hoseok was bicurious but he wasn't just going to go and like a guy, was he? Especially when the guy in question was Jeon Jungkook. No. It was impossible.

"Hoseok!" He genuinely thought he was going crazy and imagining that voice. But he turned around and saw Jungkook in the flesh, ruffled and flushed and kind of beautiful. _OH MY GOD HOSEOK STOP THIS._

"Hey, I'm older than you, prick," he settled with. Well, better than staying speechless. Jungkook just huffed and walked up to him.

"I'm not gonna call you sunbae any sooner than you're gonna call me hoobae," he stated. Hoseok rolled his eyes to escape matching Jungkook's gaze.

"Fine. What do you want?" he asked irritably. He kind of needed more time to think about this odd revelation his brain had stumbled upon. He was so caught up that he barely noticed Jungkook becoming more fidgety.

"Well, I just wanted to say that… you did really well," Jungkook mumbled and Hoseok caught his breath.

"U-um, w-what?" Hoseok stumbled, certain of the blush rising in his cheeks. This was an odd day. Jungkook sighed in exasperation.

"Look, I know compliments isn't a usual thing with us and I'm not suggesting that it becomes one but… I don't watch you dance that often. Not up close, anyway. You look kinda good." Hoseok managed to look up and see Jungkook fiddling with his sleeves, face burning red, but his eyes still intense and cool. Hoseok knew that aside from the latter, he looked the same. Jungkook was being unpredictable and nice and Hoseok hated the fact that he loved it.

"Yeah, um, you too. Really," he added in case Jungkook thought he was just being polite. The small, reluctant smile on his face told Hoseok that it worked. This was very awkward and somehow, Hoseok was unbelievably nervous. Despite being a performer, that was not something he was used to. He looked at Jungkook and theorised that they were mirroring each other. Jungkook started chewing his bottom lip out of nerves and this did not help Hoseok at all.

"Hey, um, kind of a shot in the dark, but…" Jungkook paused to drag his teeth across his lip again, giving himself time to think. Hoseok was now physically unable to take his eyes off Jungkook's mouth. "…I know we're supposed to hate each other and all, but, like…" Jungkook was seriously struggling to word this. Fortunately, Hoseok could guess what Jungkook was about to say.

In the rashest decision Hoseok had ever made in his entire life, he grabbed Jungkook's wrist and pulled him into the nearest bathroom. Lessons were just about to start so there was no one in there. Thank god. If anyone had been there, he could have never lived down what he was about to do. But it was just the two of them.

Hoseok pushed Jungkook against the wall and hesitated for a second, closer to Jungkook than he had ever been before and possibly ever will be again. Helpfully, his brain repeated the image of Jungkook seducing the audience and pushed him over the edge.

"Fuck it," he whispered and just went for it. He kissed Jungkook. Actual Jeon Jungkook. Jung Hoseok kissed Jeon Jungkook. And pretty well, if Hoseok said so himself. Possibly the best kiss of his life and it was with his arch-nemesis. Funny, that.

He felt Jungkook's tongue against him sooner than he was expecting to but he really wasn't complaining. Like every other muscle in Jungkook's body, his tongue was strong and surprisingly well-trained. At this thought, Hoseok's hands wound down to the hem of Jungkook's shirt and slid underneath. All he felt was warm, tender skin and rock-hard abs. Hoseok was very close to asking Jungkook if he wanted to stay in this bathroom forever.

The bell rang and ripped them apart far too suddenly. Hoseok felt slightly empty without Jungkook in his arms and mouth. They stared at each other in shock, not really knowing how to process any of that now that reality was smacking them in their dumb faces. Without a word, they rushed out of the bathroom and in opposite directions, both sneaking a final glance that wished they could just stay.

It was safe to say that Hoseok could not focus for the rest of the day. He had no idea why he did that. Well, he did. Jungkook was incredibly attractive and an exceptional kisser. But how had that happened? And where did this leave them? Would they stay enemies or become friends? Or would they skip out the 'friends' stage completely and move straight on to something else? This was weird and difficult. He wondered if Jungkook was having a similar crisis.

"Hey, Jimin, do you have Jungkook's number by any chance? I need to clarify a few things for next week," he lied. He needed to clarify things for the entire rest of his life. Jimin barely looked up from his phone to reply,

"Yeah, hold on, I'll send it," he told him. Hoseok smiled.

"Thanks. Why do you have his number anyway?" he asked, curious. Jimin shrugged.

"He used to date my brother and think he was being slick about it. I used to call him from time to time to check up on him or see if he was in our house. Weirdo," he muttered and Hoseok's phone pinged with the notification. Well, at least Jungkook had actual experience with dating men. Hoseok didn't have much experience with dating in general, so at least one of them knew what they were doing. If they were going to date at all, that was.

Hoseok got home and threw his bag on the floor to sit on his bed. He pulled up Jungkook's number and sighed. How the fuck was he supposed to do this? He didn't even know what he wanted to say, let alone how to say it. He was probably sitting there for the better part of fifteen minutes trying to work up the courage to actually type something. Would it be easier to call? No, probably not. Better get this over with then.

_**Hoseok: **__hey its Hoseok_

_**Hoseok:**__ we should probably talk_

And with that sent, Hoseok threw his phone across the room and lay down to try and settle his racing heart. This really shouldn't be making him feel like this. It was one kiss after one contest; that was not enough to make Hoseok question his life choices.

From the floor, Hoseok's phone screen lit up. Hoseok practically dived towards it, swiping quickly. It wasn't Jungkook. His sister had sent him another random meme and, while it did make him smile, he still felt despairing. He was about to get back up when his phone buzzed again. Heart jumping all over the place, Hoseok looked at his phone apprehensively. This time, it was Jungkook.

_**Jungkook:**__ yeah_

_**Jungkook: **__in person or would that be too insanely awkward?_

Jungkook was reading Hoseok's mind. At least they understood each other.

_**Hoseok:**__ fine lets go in person_

_**Hoseok: **__gotta do it at some point right?_

_**Jungkook: **__yeah_

_**Jungkook: **__ok meet me at your studio in 15_

_**Hoseok: **__got it_

Hoseok was already out of the door by the time he typed that. He was so genuinely relieved that Jungkook had taken control of that situation and arranged it all. Hoseok was still blocked by the initial chunk of shock. It would take him five minutes to run there, but Jungkook had said fifteen. So he settled for walking with breaks of awkward running through the darkening streets to soothe his restless legs.

He got there in under ten minutes. Obviously, Jungkook wasn't there; he was the type to be fashionably late to things. Hoseok walked around the practice space aimlessly for a bit before checking his watch. He still had five minutes. And he was so jumpy. And his phone was already connected to the speaker in here. And he had to practise for the performance next month.

He set his phone down on the floor and played the set music. It was a remix of some American pop song that Hoseok had made to make it fit within the time constraints. It wasn't that bad if he said so himself.

He focused on his reflection in the mirror and tried to imagine the rest of the dancers in formation behind him. When his cue came to move, he moved. He concentrated hard on every move, making sure he committed as much as he could to muscle memory, including that really freaking difficult footwork that he honestly regretted choreographing. He couldn't tell if he was glad that he was the only one doing it or annoyed that he couldn't run through it with anyone.

Halfway through was a move that rather relied on the other guys throwing him in the air but he couldn't be bothered so he just freestyled for a few seconds. He was reminded of Jungkook's smirk and very nearly tripped in the exact same way. He pushed through and spun through the space, remembering as much as he was physically able.

By the end, Hoseok kicked the air, pulled off a final spin and landed the ending pose perfectly. The room was silent aside from his heavy breathing. He stayed still to catch his breath and his eyes flicked to the mirror briefly. His heart pretty much stopped beating.

There was someone leaning against the back wall, analysing him with eyes that froze Hoseok's entire soul. Jungkook just tilted his head. Hoseok had no idea how long he'd been standing there but he knew enough to realise that Jungkook watched him dance. Silently, without interrupting him. Why?

Before Hoseok could say a word, Jungkook started walking towards him. Hoseok's mind caught on the grace and power with which he moved. Like a panther. Even his eyes had become driven and searching in a way that made Hoseok's throat go dry.

Still no words were said. When Jungkook pushed him up against the mirrors, Hoseok realised that maybe nothing was ever going to be said. His lips connected with Jungkook's once more and he let his eagerness speak for him. His hands moved to Jungkook's hips to pull him in closer until his entire body was braced against him. This time, Jungkook was taking control and Hoseok wouldn't be able to decide which was better if he was at gunpoint.

The first time had been unsure, a little hesitant, afraid to push and create something new. Now, they had nothing to lose. Jungkook's hand slid up Hoseok's body and stopped at his neck to caress the skin gently. Hoseok was breathless and so incredibly hot. He looped his hands around Jungkook's lower back, digging his nails in lightly and then harder when Jungkook gripped his shoulder. It was deliciously on the border of rough and sweet. Hoseok would have never guessed in a million years that he would be here, and never that he would like it so damn much. He couldn't help himself, couldn't get enough of Jungkook. Just this morning, he had hated the guy's guts. Now, he wanted nothing else than to be with him for the rest of eternity.

Jungkook pulled away breathlessly, leaving Hoseok to simply stare at him in awe and admiration. Now he could see his pink face and swollen lips, he was convinced that Jungkook was some kind of fallen angel; beautiful and dark, still holding on to a glimpse of innocence.

"S-sorry, I couldn't help it. You look really good," he whispered. Hoseok didn't know what would happen if he attempted to speak. Would he stutter, form any words at all? There was only one way to find out.

"I forgive you." It seemed sinful to speak any louder than a whisper when they were still so close in an otherwise silent room. Hoseok still couldn't think of a single thing to say. It was as if Jungkook had stolen the words out of his mouth with his pretty tongue. He was becoming more and more aware of the awkward silence taking over the room and his brain pushed into overdrive, trying to pick something, anything. "Were you watching me?" Dumb question. He knew the answer to it.

"Yeah. Is it for the contest next month?" Jungkook asked, slowly moving his hands away and stepping back awkwardly to give Hoseok more space to breathe. Hoseok was comforted by the fact that neither of them knew what to do with their hands now they weren't on each other. It was somehow harder this way.

"Yeah. How's yours going?" he asked, trying to stay on a subject he was comfortable with for as long as possible. As much as he knew this weird conversation needed to happen – he had even initiated it – he didn't want to actually have it. it would definitely happen in the next ten minutes but Hoseok's panicky brain still wanted to stall. Jungkook scratched his neck and gave a small smile.

"Not as well as yours apparently. I'm gonna have to make some changes," he replied and Hoseok pouted.

"Hey, no, wait, that's cheating!" he objected and Jungkook just shrugged in response. "Fine, let me see yours then. It's only fair," he reasoned and Jungkook rolled his eyes, getting his phone out and muttering something under his breath. "What was that, sorry?" Hoseok asked, significantly calmer. Jungkook smirked at him again (how the hell did he have the composure for that?).

"I said 'sure, if you can keep it in your pants,'" he teased and started playing the music. Hoseok was left speechless and blushing with no comeback at all. At least he had a reason not to reply because Jungkook had started dancing. And, somehow, Hoseok felt time melt from his mind. He felt everything disappear except Jungkook. He danced with such strong passion, Hoseok was slightly afraid he would break the floor. The routine may not have been as complex as Neuron's but he made up for it with unbelievable stage charisma which shocked the sole audience member.

Four minutes passed in the blink of an eye and Hoseok was, once again, dumbstruck. He had no idea how he had never seen Jungkook dance before today but there was something about him that was just so damn sexy. And the more Hoseok thought about it, he realised that that something was his everything.

"See, not as good as yours," Jungkook shrugged, out of breath. Hoseok didn't believe he was being serious.

"Are you kidding? You're gonna win this shit _again_," he mumbled, his red face betraying how secretly impressed and proud he was. Jungkook scoffed.

"You realise you won last time? And the time before that, and the time before that…" he drawled, sitting down and Hoseok smiled, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah but we were practising every day before and after school as well as lunchtimes and we still only beat you by three points. It's not like you're giving us an easy time," he replied, joining Jungkook on the floor. There was a long silence as Jungkook just looked at him, seemingly analysing him with those goddamn beautiful eyes of his. Hoseok couldn't hold eye contact for long before shying away.

"Do you really hate me?" Jungkook asked out of the blue. Hoseok looked up.

"I mean… I definitely did yesterday. And this morning I didn't like you either. Lunch was… something else. And now I don't know what's going on," Hoseok confessed, more easily than he thought he would be able, and Jungkook nodded.

"Cool. Just checking we're on the same page," he hummed. Hoseok was relieved that neither of them knew what the hell was going on, whilst also missing the cool and confident Jungkook from earlier.

"We don't have to, you know… be anything, if you don't want. It's cool if you want whatever this is to stay casual or, like, stop," Hoseok assured him, hating how formal he sounded and how uncomfortable he was making this. Jungkook tilted his head.

"Do you want this to be something?" he asked. "We're definitely not who we used to be. Besides, everyone still thinks we hate each other's guts. I don't think it'd go down well with either of our groups if we randomly started going out," he reasoned and Hoseok was now trying to find any reason to stay with Jungkook. He had sort of given in and accepted that he liked Jungkook in some way at this point, however much that fucked with his head. He ruffled his hair.

"Well… not gonna lie, secret relationship sounds kinda hot. If you don't want to, I get it, we can- "

"No, I want to as well," Jungkook interrupted and Hoseok couldn't hold back a smile. He looked up and saw the same grin decorating Jungkook's face. Somehow, this confirmation relaxed Hoseok infinitely. He had a boyfriend now. Cool.

"Well, thank god for that. 'Cause, I gotta tell you, you're really something else," he winked and Jungkook rolled his eyes amusedly.

"Oh, you're _that_ kind of boyfriend," he teased and Hoseok shuffled closer to him.

"I can be any kind of boyfriend you want me to be." He kissed Jungkook on the cheek, who was clearly trying to ignore his blush. Yet, he looked at Hoseok and kissed him back on the lips. Wow, he was beautiful. His jealousy must have been forcing him to ignore it before today.

"How the hell did this happen," Jungkook mumbled.

"Absolutely no idea," Hoseok agreed. "I feel like I'm gonna wake up and this is all gonna be a dream." Jungkook smiled at him.

"Best dream ever." He kissed Hoseok again, deeper this time. Soon, they were both lying on the floor of the practice room, alternating between making out and giggling at each other. Hoseok didn't want anything else for the rest of his life; just this moment, replayed forever.

**A part 2 may exist? if you want it? i mean i'll probably post it anyway tbh but i've also got some other stuff lined up so :)**


	31. Chapter 31 - Hopekook Ch2

An alarm beeped incessantly through the cold air of Hoseok's room. Mumbling curses at it, he rolled over and turned it off, instantly curling up to go back to sleep. It was so cold and he just wanted to stay under his covers forever and forget that anything else existed. He was in an in-between state of sleep and awake so it was difficult to determine how long he was there for.

His phone buzzed from under his pillow and Hoseok was tempted to throw it away if it was another alarm. He fumbled around before grasping it and answering a call, too tired to even check who it was.

"Hello?" he rasped.

_"Hyung, are you sick?"_ Jimin's voice asked. Hoseok rubbed his eyes and attempted to wake up some more.

"No, I just woke up. What's up?" he replied, already feeling his eyes shutting again.

_"What?! We have practice this morning, you idiot! Get up, we've been waiting for like fifteen minutes."_ Hoseok sat up. It was a Saturday morning; how the hell could he forget to go to dance practice? Despite the cold, Hoseok jumped out of bed.

"Uh, yeah, I'll be there as soon as I can. Run it through without me, okay?" He rushed to put on some suitable clothes and heard Jimin laugh over the phone.

_"Fine. Get here soon,"_ he wished before hanging up. Hoseok was a mess, picking things up, putting them down, immediately forgetting where they were. It was too early for this. Why the hell was he so tired? Actually, that didn't matter right now. He just needed to be out of the house.

It was so cold outside but he made up for it by sprinting almost all the way to the studio. By the time he got there, he was more out of breath than he had been after a full rehearsal. He burst through the door and everyone immediately applauded. He just caught his breath, confused.

"Hyung, you got here, well done!" Jimin teased and Hoseok rolled his eyes. He threw his bag down and walked to the front of the room, placing his phone on the speakers. He was about to just get on with it and call for a full run-through when Yeonjun raised his voice.

"Sunbae, did you sort out the dance-off with Jungkook yet?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah, I-" Hoseok froze. Ah. That's why he was so tired. He had been awake until 3 am texting his new boyfriend – his new secret boyfriend. He was so lucky they had sorted out the arrangements for the contest with Bangtan during that time.

"Sunbae~" Yeonjun sang and Hoseok looked up, shaken out of his memory. "You blanked out. Did you sort it out or not?" Hoseok blinked.

"Yeah, we did. The song is How Long by Charlie Puth because he likes western artists for some reason. Shouldn't be too difficult. First verse and chorus is freestyle, the second verse is theirs, pre-chorus is ours and then the chorus is between me and Jungkook," he explained, trying to make that sound as inconspicuous as possible. The real plan was a lot more exciting but a total secret. Jimin just shrugged,

"Yeah, sounds good."

"I'll have our bit done by tomorrow and start teaching it on Monday. Until then, get familiar with the song and get the beat down. As for this dance, let's run it through with me, this time." There was a low grumble of complaint but everyone shuffled into formation. Hoseok's adrenaline was wearing off and it was difficult to begin with; but the further he got, the more he remembered the night before, dancing under Jungkook's piercing eyes. That was enough to give him energy.

Well, for the rest of practice, at least. When he got home, his eyes were shut before his head even reached his pillow. Two hours of dancing on four hours of sleep was not the most fantastic idea he'd ever had. And yet, when his phone pinged, he sat up and looked at it. He had customised Jungkook's ringtone so he instantly answered it.

"Hello?" he asked, despite knowing exactly who it was.

_"Hey,"_ responded Jungkook's song-like voice, making Hoseok smile. _"How was practice?"_ he asked and Hoseok sighed.

"Exhausting. I was ten minutes late because someone kept me up until 3 am being adorable," he pouted but was internally exploding with glee. This relationship was so easy to be in. It felt cute and joyful and supportive and it was so secret.

_"Oh no, how terrible! I hope it didn't affect your practice time!"_ Jungkook consoled sarcastically and Hoseok gasped.

"You snake, I swear if you seduced me just to mess up our practice-" he started but was cut off by Jungkook's giggle.

_"Chill, I forgot you had practice today. Besides, if I wanted to do that, I would have done it ages ago,"_ he joked and Hoseok almost laughed at the memory of how far their relationship had progressed in the last 36 hours. _"Oh, did you tell them about next week?"_ he enquired.

"Yeah, all set. I've choreographed a little bit of our section but not loads. Wanna rehearse tomorrow?" he asked.

_"What about today?"_

"Are you kidding? I'm gonna be asleep until about 5 in the evening," he scoffed.

_"I'm free after 6,"_ Jungkook suggested with a certain cockiness in his voice, as if he knew Hoseok couldn't refuse.

"I- fine. We could grab a bit to eat afterwards, maybe?" he proposed and Jungkook hummed.

_"Sounds perfect. Have fun sleeping, I've got to revise all day and quadratic graphs make me want to cry,"_ he whined and Hoseok smiled,

"Oh, yeah, I forgot you were still little," he teased. Jungkook huffed,

_"You were supposed to say, 'My darling sweetheart, of course I will help you with your math homework and bring you chocolate milk because you're the best boyfriend in the world.'"_

"I'd rather sleep," Hoseok mused and he laughed when he heard Jungkook sob exaggeratedly. "I'll tell you all of that tomorrow. For now, remember that quadratic graphs aren't on this term's exams," he consoled.

_"Wait, really?"_ Jungkook chirped. _"Wow, that does make me feel better. Thanks!"_

"Well, what else are boyfriends for?" Hoseok hummed and Jungkook laughed,

_"Stopping each other's dance practice?"_

"Oh, that's right, I get to disrupt one of your practices now. Thanks for reminding me," Hoseok smirked

_"I shouldn't have said anything,"_ Jungkook conceded. _"Anyways, sleep well! I'll see you at six!"_

"You too!" They hung up and Hoseok lay back on his bed, thoughts still filled with the black-haired boy.

Two days later, he was back at school, pretending to be a dick to Jungkook. Hoseok had thought it would have come easily, since they had despised each other for the better part of two years. It's funny how only three dates could have completely flipped that upside-down. When his teammates jeered in the playground, Hoseok cringed instead of laughing.

The worst came when they were walking opposite ways in the corridor, both with other people. They locked eyes, trying to figure out a way to handle this naturally.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" Jungkook bit out and Hoseok rolled his eyes.

"Don't flatter yourself, dumbass. Keep walking," he rebuffed. Jungkook scoffed, Hoseok ignored him. Inside, they were both trying so hard not to laugh.

Jungkook lived only a few blocks away from school so he didn't take the bus with Hoseok. That was annoying, but it also meant that they didn't have to spend as much time pretending to hate each other, so perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. His phone dinged while his friends were joking around and he checked it subtly.

_**JK:** nice comeback earlier_

_**Hobi:** I didn't mean it :(_

_**JK:** aw ur so cute_

_**JK:** I can't stay mad at u for long_

_**Hobi:** :)_

_**JK:** I miss u_

_**JK:** wanna come round later_

_**Hobi:** yeah course_

_**Hobi:** we can think of some more comebacks_

_**JK:** loll we're definitely gonna need them_

"Hyung," Jimin called and Hoseok looked up, distracted. Jimin was looking at him curiously, not saying a word.

"Yeah…what?" Hoseok asked carefully. Jimin just smiled.

"Hyung, do you have a girlfriend?" he asked bluntly and Hoseok nearly burst out laughing.

"What? Where the hell did you pull that from?" he laughed and Jimin folded his arms.

"Custom notification tone, stupidly smiling at your phone, generally distracted. Those signs to me point to a girlfriend. Who is it?" He made a grab for Hoseok's phone, who quickly turned it off.

"Hey, none of your business!" he retaliated defensively and Jimin raised his hands in surrender.

"Fine, fine! Maybe a good thing I can't know her. She'd fall in love with me anyway," he hummed and Hoseok punched him in the arm to punish his vainness, safe in the knowledge that Jungkook would never fall for someone like Jimin.

Encounters at school were getting harder to deal with but they had a few plans to deal with them now. There was one instance when they caught each other alone in the hall and had a quiet but cute catch-up, hands instinctively interlinking. When someone turned the corner, they both pushed each other away with fake hostility and Hoseok felt empty as he walked away. He went to find Jimin to sit with.

"Hey. How was your date last night?" he asked and Hoseok sighed, smiling as he remembered it.

"Yeah, it was- wait, what?" he suddenly realised. Jimin was just smugly eating chips.

"So you do have a girlfriend," he pressed and Hoseok rolled his eyes. Leave it to Jimin to totally unravel everything.

"Have you been rehearsing?" he asked, changing the subject. Jimin nodded. Their dance-off was tomorrow and Hoseok was excited. His duet with Jungkook was pretty much perfect and his group dance was spot-on. If everything went well, there wouldn't be a single person in this school not talking about it.

And, as Thursday came, Hoseok was so very jumpy, counting every second until the dance-off. The morning sped past until it was lunchtime and both groups were squaring off outside. A small crowd was already forming while Hoseok and Jungkook pretended to stare each other down. To them, it was closer to just gazing into each other's eyes.

Eventually, the groups and the audience formed a large circle big enough to dance in. And then, someone started the music. First half was a freestyle contest that Jungkook and Hoseok were exempt from. They could have spent the time watching their dancers or supporting them; instead, they just smiled excitedly at each other from across the circle until it was Bangtan's turn to dance.

And Jungkook did not hold back. Hoseok just shook his head at him as he did another body roll. He would have to be patient, but Jungkook was not making it easy for him. Well, Hoseok thought, if Jungkook isn't taking this lightly then neither will I. And so, Neuron stepped up to the space.

It was simple as the choreography had been somewhat rushed. It was pretty good for only four days of rehearsal, Hoseok thought. And, from the captivated look on Jungkook's face, their audience thought so as well.

Their allotted time was coming to an end and the rest of Neuron spun out of their space, Jungkook stepping forward to face him. Just them two in the circle, everyone's eyes on them. They moved apart and the beat dropped.

The first bit of the choreography was separate and different to give the sense of a freestyle, yet it was still coordinated. And when the moves started to match, Hoseok saw people whispering with confusion. He smiled and twisted into the centre, feeling Jungkook line up behind him and a hand creeping smoothly over his shoulder. The crowd gasped as Jungkook's fingers ran down Hoseok's chest and slid off his thigh. They danced away from each other, mirroring each other's movements right down to the dizzy grins on their faces.

The final beat hit and both of them dropped to the floor. There was a moment of silence while everyone took it in. A moment followed by rapturous applause and cheering. Neuron surrounded Hoseok and Bangtan surrounded Jungkook asking so many questions. Jimin was practically screaming but Hoseok just laughed.

The couple managed to fight their way through the crowd to hug each other. Jungkook looked at Hoseok and bubbled over with laughter. Hoseok smiled and kissed him lightly on the forehead. Jungkook looked up and kissed him on the lips as if trying to one-up him. Hoseok didn't mind.

The bell rang and the crowd began to disperse. Hoseok and Jungkook stayed where they were until Jimin tugged them apart.

"What the hell happened?!" he asked incredulously. Hoseok shrugged.

"We kissed. Do you know what that is?" he teased and Jimin rolled his eyes.

"B-but you hate each other!" he protested and Jungkook clung to Hoseok's hand.

"And now we don't," he explained simply. Jimin's eyes widened as he looked at Hoseok.

"Wait, your girlfriend… that was Jungkook?" he exclaimed and Jungkook frowned.

"Um, I kinda prefer 'boyfriend' if you don't mind," he hummed and Jimin blinked.

"I- This is weird."

"Get used to it," Hoseok told him. "I really like him," he whispered and Jungkook kissed him on the cheek.

"I really like you, too." Hoseok just gazed at him, barely even noticing Jimin walk off. Jungkook was like that. Hypnotising, seductive, beguiling. Captivating. Beautiful.


	32. Chapter 32 - Jinmin Round 2

(Does That Make Sense?)

"Jimin-ah, are you coming?"

"Yeah, just tying my laces!" Jimin sprang to his feet after tying his shoelaces in secure loops and raced to catch up with Yoongi, who was standing in the street, waiting for him with a bored expression.

"It's freezing. Could you have done that any slower?" he teased as they set off walking together. Jimin huffed and smiled.

"I only have little fingers. They don't work well when it's cold." Jimin proved this by wiggling his fingers in Yoongi's face. Yoongi just caught his hand and held it by his side.

"Then tie your shoes before you get outside, dumbass," he sighed and Jimin grinned.

Yoongi was a few years older than Jimin but they were best friends. They were the type of close where no one could tell if they were dating or not. For the record, they weren't; but neither of them particularly cared if people thought they were.

Right now, with Yoongi holding Jimin's hand to protect him from the cold and the pair chatting down the street towards the café where they were planning to eat, most people would have thought they were going out. In reality, Yoongi was just protective and Jimin was just touchy. They would be perfect for each other but they didn't want to end up together.

They reached the coffee shop and Jimin was hit with a blast of warm air conditioning. He shrugged off his puffy winter coat almost immediately and sat down at a small table by the window while Yoongi went to get their food. He knew Jimin's order. When he came back with coffee and a hot pastry for him, hot chocolate and a toastie for Jimin, they started eating without a word, letting themselves warm up.

"So what do you wanna do tonight?" Yoongi asked eventually and Jimin pondered this.

"I don't know. Movie?" he suggested and Yoongi chuckled,

"I'm picking this time. I'm never trusting you again."

"What exactly was wrong with 50 Shades?"

"I'm gonna let you figure that one out."

"Well, it was either that or The Purge."

"I would have been fine with The Purge."

"Would you have been fine with walking me home in the dark and trying to stop me screaming every four seconds?"

"That's your problem, not mine."

"I can assure you, hyung, it would have very much been your problem."

Jimin honestly adored having someone with whom he could talk to so naturally. With other people, he always had to force it, fake a smile, think hard about his words. Not with Yoongi. Another thing that Jimin loved was being able to make Yoongi smile. Properly. Cold, tsundere, resting-bitch-face Yoongi softened completely for Jimin. Jimin liked being that exception.

Their little domestic argument continued and evolved into a more casual conversation which carried on until long after they had both finished eating and they got up to leave when they suddenly realised that it was half 8 already. They walked back to Yoongi's house, freezing after the warmth of the heated café.

"Oh, did I mention my brother?" Yoongi asked suddenly and Jimin cocked his head.

"I mean, you mentioned that you had one," he answered and Yoongi smiled.

"I was supposed to tell you that he's coming back from uni at some point tonight. Just so you don't freak out when a random guy walks in and sits down." Jimin hummed,

"I've never met your brother. Is he nice?" he asked and Yoongi laughed.

"Whatever you're expecting, forget it. We're siblings, not twins. No one would guess we were related, not even you if I didn't tell you." Jimin doubted this greatly but just shrugged silently instead of objecting.

They got back to Yoongi's house and Jimin sat on the couch like it was his own. Yoongi flicked on the TV and started scrolling through Netflix.

"Hmm… Avengers?"

"Nah, seen it a million times. Ooh, Princess Switch! I hear it's really good."

"It's a Christmas movie. Does it even have Korean subs?"

"Let's find out."

"Let's not. Oh, we could carry on Memories of the Alhambra? Blood and zombies for me, sappy romance for you," Yoongi suggested and Jimin nodded. They had started it a while ago but they had both fallen asleep around episode six. Nothing to do with the show, it was just around 3 am.

Yoongi pressed play and then turned the lights off before sitting back down. Jimin curled up almost on top of him and snuggled them up in blankets until they were at Jimin's ideal temperature – boiling. Because Jimin was such a cuddly person, Yoongi was used to being huddled against and was perfectly fine with cuddling Jimin back. Neither of them cared that it made them look coupley; no one else could see them anyway.

The front door opened and slammed. Jimin could hear Yoongi mutter from next to his ear,

"Here comes trouble."

And trouble came. The living room door opened and a tall guy that Jimin had never seen before walked in and flung himself over the other sofa.

"Hey," Yoongi greeted as if his brother hadn't been away for the better part of 8 months.

"Hey," Yoongi's brother greeted as if he hadn't been away for the better part of 8 months.

"Hyung, this is Jimin. Jimin, this is my big brother Seokjin," Yoongi introduced them.

"Hey," Seokjin said in the same detached tone.

"Hi," Jimin looked at Seokjin for a second and had to double-take.

Yoongi was right in that no one would guess they were related. Where Yoongi took after his father, Seokjin clearly seemed to take after their mother. Yoongi was small, his hair fell in choppy black streaks over his face and he was about Jimin's build. Seokjin was way taller, his hair was light brown and he was broad as hell. Their personalities seemed almost identical from the two words he had said but he looked… like something else. And Jimin was here for it.

The three of them sat in silence for a while, just watching the show with no other conversation in the room. Jimin occasionally caught himself sneaking glances at Seokjin until he had to make a conscious effort to stop.

After a while, Yoongi tapped Jimin's arm as a signal to tell him to get up. Jimin took his weight off Yoongi enough to let him leave and go to the bathroom or wherever he was going. And it was just Jimin and Seokjin. Almost as soon as Yoongi had left, Seokjin drawled,

"So. Your boyfriend…" Jimin looked over curiously.

"My… boyfriend? Huh? I don't have a boyfriend?" As soon as he had answered, he realised that Seokjin had done what everyone else did.

"You aren't dating my brother?" he asked and Jimin shook his head, smiling so Seokjin wouldn't feel bad.

"No, we're just really good friends," he clarified and Seokjin hummed,

"Well, thank god for that," he muttered, making Jimin giggle.

"Why so?" he asked, forgetting about the show despite it still playing. Seokjin turned his head and gave Jimin a once over before looking back at the TV, smirking,

"Well, first off, you could definitely do better." Jimin laughed,

"You know, I honestly don't think I could. I've been thinking for ages that if there was someone exactly like Yoongi-hyung who just _wasn't_, I'd probably go out with them."

"What's wrong with that particular Yoongi? Too short?" Seokjin joked. Jimin just about registered how easy this conversation was. That didn't usually happen.

"He's taller than me, at least. Besides, he's… him. We're best friends and I like it that way. Neither of us can mess that up," Jimin asserted.

"Hm. It's a shame he doesn't have a brother or anything. Then you could date him," Seokjin said with a tone that Jimin took a second to register.

"Ye- um, I- what?" he choked. Was that a pickup line? An actual pickup line? That Seokjin had used on Jimin? And was it working? Seokjin turned his head to wink at Jimin before turning away and _oh yeah, it was definitely working._

Before Jimin could stutter any more, Yoongi walked back in with a can and Jimin rolled his eyes.

"You drink way too much coffee," he said as Yoongi seated back down.

"Shush," he smiled, booping Jimin lightly on the nose before taking a sip. The room fell into silence again with only the sound from the TV to break the quiet. To Jimin, it was just white noise. He was much more focused on Seokjin.

He had come in halfway through an episode, yet his eyes were reading the screen with interest and calculating scepticism. It was kind of hot. Jimin was this close to slapping himself across the face.

_What the fuck are you doing? That's Yoongi's brother, you idiot! You can't find him hot even though he's just a taller, flirtier Yoongi and oh my god did you just get a crush in five minutes? You never cease to amaze me, Park Jimin. _

"Wait, I'm gonna go get snacks and stuff, BRB," Yoongi whistled and left again. Externally, Jimin smiled; internally, Jimin screamed. Calm down, you maniac. Seokjin was just teasing, that's all. It wasn't like he was actually interested in him or anythi-

"You're staring, Jimin," Seokjin slurred very attractively. Jimin slapped himself and turned his attention back to the show. Seokjin laughed, "Aw, that was cute! How old are you again?" he asked and Jimin wanted to be careful.

"Um, 17" he responded and Seokjin shifted.

"Little young, but that could work," he mumbled to himself.

"Now, see, that makes it sound like you're gonna kill me," Jimin smiled nervously.

"I mean I meant to date, but I guess you're also too young to die, too. Good point, well done," he joked nonchalantly and Jimin kept losing his breath.

"W-what makes you think I'd want to date you?" he asked, attempting to sound cool.

"I mean the stutter isn't proving your point but it's adorable," Seokjin shrugged back and Jimin didn't know what to say at all.

"N-no, I can't. You're Yoongi-hyung's brother, that's weird, right?" Jimin wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Seokjin or himself but he seemed to be failing in both.

"I honestly doubt he'd care."

"Are you sure?" Jimin wasn't sure. Yoongi was his best friend in the whole world, soulmate, protector, his everything. He couldn't mess that up because of a boy. Even if it was Yoongi's insanely hot brother. Seokjin paused.

"Let's find out." He rolled off the couch and stood up and fuck he was tall. Broad and yet slim? Jimin had no idea how that was possible but here was someone defying physics right in front of him.

He braced himself against the backboard of the couch and leaned over Jimin, gazing at him through deep, kind, curious eyes. Jimin swallowed. It had been a long while since he'd had anyone else this close to his lips.

Seokjin smiled slightly and then leaned in; Jimin could feel his heart rate skyrocket. Seokjin's lips brushed against his and Jimin was pretty sure he blacked out for a good few seconds. When he came back to reality, he was kissing Seokjin.

It was gentle and experimental as if Seokjin could taste his nerves. He went slow and Jimin appreciated that so very much. Seokjin reached a hand up to Jimin's face and pushed a free strand of hair out of his eyes. Jimin was certain that he could stay here forever, mind revolving around Seokjin and his lips and his hands and his thoughts.

Jimin heard the door open again and flinched but Seokjin didn't pull back. He didn't until Yoongi was fully in the room and only then did he move away again. Jimin just breathed, unable to take his eyes off him.

"Fucking... Hyung, you met him an hour ago and you had max two conversations in that time," Yoongi scoffed, pushing past Seokjin and breaking the spell. Jimin blushed, afraid to just go back to snuggling Yoongi like before. Seokjin shrugged and went to sit back down again.

"He's cute. Sorry," Seokjin hummed. Jimin mumbled another apology under his breath. Yoongi laughed.

"Wha- hyung, don't apologise. Teach me how the hell to do that. If I could just hit on someone and be dating them within the hour, I'd be doing it all the freaking time." Jimin couldn't help but laugh. Yoongi pulled him back into a cuddle and it was comfortable again. "So are you two gonna actually date now or what?" Yoongi asked.

"I don't know. Jimin, wanna go out?" Seokjin asked way too casually and confidently.

"Uhm… Sure?" he answered very unconfidently. He saw Seokjin smile.

"Cool." There was silence for a second. "Does anyone else have no idea what's going on with this?" he gestured to the screen and Yoongi laughed,

"The show or life?"

"Both," Jimin answered truthfully and the two siblings laughed the same laugh.

"Seriously, hyung have fun with him," Yoongi joked and Jimin giggled somewhat nervously. This family seemed to be very efficient with the whole dating process. Jimin was usually one to panic and stress and lie awake until 3 am thinking about his crushes; this entire process seemed to have all happened in Seokjin's head within the space of 4 seconds. Impressive.

By 2 am, they had almost finished the show but Jimin was pretty much falling asleep. He felt heavy and in between asleep and awake. He was aware of talking but he didn't want to move at all.

"Jimin, come on, you need to go home," Yoongi whispered and Jimin ignored him completely. He just wanted to sleep. His surroundings shifted but he rolled over to stop it. "Hyung, a little help? He's pinning my arm," Yoongi whispered and it was barely a second before Jimin felt himself being lifted. Wow, that was comfortable. He wriggled to get closer to the body heat and heard a faint chuckle.

"Aww, he's cute when he's asleep. And when he's awake. He's cute," Seokjin summarised nicely.

"We're not getting him home like this. I'll call his mom, you can let him sleep in your room if you want."

"Sounds like a plan. Night, Yoongs."

"Night, hyung. Night, Jiminie." Jimin vaguely felt himself moving and then being put down on something soft but cold. He whined before blankets were pulled on top of him and warm arms wrapped around his body. That was nice. That was warm.


	33. Chapter 33 - Jikook Round 2

**100% inspired by Jin singing "come be my teacher" yet I didn't include him in this story :/**

(Boy With Luv)

"Everyone, please quiet down!"

Jimin didn't understand why such a simple phrase worked differently when Jungkook said it. Differently as in it didn't actually work at all. When Jimin called for silence, he got it pretty much immediately. Jungkook usually managed to elicit the opposite response. Maybe it was because Jimin hit the table. But it couldn't just be that.

Jungkook was the cool, young teaching assistant. He connected well with the bored college students because he gave off exactly those vibes himself. His teaching style was casual and definitely not above board, considering how often he let a swear word slip out. Students respected him as a person but hardly as a teacher. Maybe that was why he couldn't control a class to save his life.

Jungkook had been Jimin's teaching assistant for almost a year now. Next year, he'd have his own group of students to teach math to and Jimin was definitely going to miss him. Even in the lessons he wasn't in charge of, he'd add little jokes or comments that kept everyone laughing. They alternated lessons; half the time, Jungkook would watch Jimin teach and hopefully pick up technique; the other half, Jimin would assess Jungkook's teaching style. He knew which lessons were the most fun, but those were not the lessons with the most learning.

As a person, Jungkook was great. He was cool and relatable. Jimin had eaten with him on a few occasions and he certainly had a lot to say. He was just the right amount of awkward and funny. He was much smarter than he let on and had lived a surprisingly entertaining life. A sharp-witted, punny and sensitive person was hard to come by and Jimin felt lucky to have met him.

"So, for your test…" Jimin began and the entire class protested. Jimin laughed and held up his hands in surrender. "I did tell you this test was happening. It doesn't count for anything either, so you don't need to worry. Books away, calculators away and sit still," he ordered and the class grumbled, obeying. Jimin hummed and fumbled around his desk for the papers. Missing. Strange. He gestured to Jungkook, who stood up and walked over to him.

"Jungkook, did you move the test papers?" he asked quietly and Jungkook shook his head.

"No, I haven't seen them. Did you leave them in the office?" he suggested and Jimin thought.

"Maybe." He looked up to the class, sitting to attention. He addressed them, "Guys, stay quiet for Mr Jeon, I just need to find your papers." He sensed a collective smirk from the entire class at the prospect of being looked after by Jungkook for even a few minutes. Jimin nodded to Jungkook, who winked back. Jimin rushed out of the room and sped to the office. He had to be back quickly; he trusted Jungkook, but not _that_ much.

The test papers were sitting innocently on his desk as if they were waiting for him. Jimin rolled his eyes and picked them up. He walked back down the corridors to his classroom, anxious to get back before the students become too rowdy to concentrate.

As he opened the door, he realised that he was already too late. Everyone was roaring with laughter, smiling and shouting to Jungkook as if he was one of them. Jungkook himself was bright red and looked amused, albeit very embarrassed. Everyone noticed the door open and Jungkook attempted in vain to get silence again.

Jimin walked to the desk and slammed the table with a board eraser. A loud, resounding crack shocked everyone into quietness, including Jungkook.

"Thank you," Jimin sang passive-aggressively. The class were still whispering amongst themselves and shooting mysterious glances at Jungkook and Jimin. Curious, Jimin looked to Jungkook, who shrugged in a way that would have been nonchalant if he hadn't looked at the floor and flushed red.

Jimin handed out the test papers swiftly before standing at the front of the room and writing the end time on the board.

"Time starts… now." Pages turned and pencils scribbled. Finally, silence for forty-five minutes and Jimin could get some other marking done. Or so he thought.

Whispers and snickers echoed through the otherwise quiet room that Jimin managed to halt with a glance most times. He even caught a boy on the end of the row attempt to talk to Jungkook.

"Choi Beomgyu, please don't talk," he warned and the boy put his head back down, still smiling. Whatever had gone on, it must have been pretty big. Unfortunately, Jimin couldn't ask what it was during a test. He'd have to wait until afterwards.

Except afterwards didn't arrive. By the time Jimin and Jungkook had collected all the test papers, the next class was coming in and Jimin couldn't ask. Even after that, Jungkook seemed to disappear. It seemed odd to text him to ask what it was about, especially since they weren't exactly best friends. So Jimin dropped it.

The next day, he had the same class again. Once more, they were restless. Granted, they were always more casual with Jungkook teaching but they seemed even chattier this time around. Was it because of whatever happened yesterday? Again, Jimin couldn't ask. Thankfully, all the other lessons went smoothly.

This happened for another week. Every time Jimin had that same class, they would be much more lively and amused than usual, regardless of who was teaching them. Jimin even implemented a new seating plan one lesson and it didn't work. Whatever they were all whispering about, it seemed to be class-wide, but hadn't spread between classes yet.

A few more days passed and Jimin coincidentally ran into Choi Beomgyu in the halls after school.

"Oh, sir, I just wanted to apologise on behalf of everyone. I know we've been really talkative recently," he acknowledged and Jimin tilted his head.

"Yeah, you have. What's that all about, anyway? You've been like this ever since Jungkook looked after you for about two minutes last week. What could have possibly happened int hat space of time?" he thought out loud and Beomgyu smiled the same smile that everyone in his class had. It was knowing and annoyingly exclusive.

"You might want to talk to ask Mr Jeon about that," he answered cryptically and Jimin sighed.

"Come on, just tell me," he whined childishly. It was okay, it was after school so no one else could hear. Beomgyu was one of the more lax students anyway. Even so, he looked conflicted and ruffled his hair.

"Well… ever since Mr Jeon started teaching us, we've all had this sort of running joke that he has a crush on you?" he almost asked for permission to continue and Jimin remained silent to allow him. "It started off as just this joke when you weren't in the room because it did sort of seem like he did. Then last week, we were teasing him about it like usual but he actually confessed that it was true."

What?

Jungkook had a crush on him?

"We all promised not to tell you because it might end really badly and he does seem like he really likes you," Beomgyu reasoned and Jimin couldn't believe any of this. There was no way that Jeon Jungkook, the smartest, funniest, most interesting, coolest, most charismatic person Jimin knew had a crush on him. That was simply unfathomable. He had to see this for himself.

"Thank you, Choi. I'll see you tomorrow," he said briefly before walking towards their office.

"Wait, sir, do you like him back or not?" Beomgyu called after him. Jimin just turned around and saluted to him before running down the corridors to find Jungkook. Oh, this would be fun.

Jungkook was packing up his stuff to go home when Jimin opened the door. Jungkook looked up as he entered and smiled politely.

"Oh, Jimin, I ordered the mark schemes and put them in the top drawer of the-"

"Jungkook, do you think I'm pretty?" Jimin sighed, cutting Jungkook off quickly and making him stutter.

"Th-the, um, what?" A hint of panic slipped through that made him seem more nervous than surprised. Jimin leaned against the wall.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" he repeated and Jungkook seemed to freeze.

"Well... Yes. I think you're very attractive," he answered simply and quietly and Jimin smiled slightly.

"Okay, but would you date me?" he asked and Jungkook swallowed.

"W-wait, I think I left something in the classroom," he attempted to dodge. He started moving towards the door. Jimin couldn't let him escape this easily. In a flash, he caught Jungkook's tie and pulled him back. Jungkook just halted, barely centimetres away from Jimin and staring straight at the floor.

"Answer me first. Jeon Jungkook, will you go out with me?" Jimin asked softly. At first, he had been afraid that he was wrong, that Beomgyu was lying; but Jungkook's reactions were the type of anxious you only get when you're in close proximity to your crush. Right now, all Jimin could do was wait for an answer. He'd wait all night if he needed to.

He really didn't have to.

Jungkook's eyes locked with his and answered the question confidently, even if Jimin could hear his breath shaking. Far sooner and far more boldly than Jimin was expecting, Jungkook kissed him fully on the lips and Jimin sank into it. He wrapped his hand around Jungkook's tie and pulled him in closer. Jungkook tenderly rested his hands on Jimin's hips in a way that could have easily been careful and nervous. He pulled back slightly.

"Why, why now?" he asked between kisses. Jimin smiled,

"Choi Beomgyu," he answered, and dove straight back at Jungkook's mouth, feeling a sigh from the younger.

"That little prick," he mumbled, "He's getting so much extra credit."

Outside the door, Beomgyu grinned to himself. He swung his blazer over his shoulder, thoroughly pleased with the result of that little pairing. He sent a quick text to the class group chat confirming the success and his phone immediately blew up with incredulous and amused responses. He skipped down the halls, happy that his two favourite teachers were finally together and he would definitely pass this semester.


	34. Chapter 34 - Namkook Round 2

(Pied Piper)

Namjoon arrived at school sleep-deprived, exhausted and with far too much inactive coffee and aspirin running through his veins. Most students were like that. Except most of them were like that because they'd been to Jeon Jungkook's party last night. Namjoon's reason was far more innocent: he had a cold and stayed up until 1 am studying verb tables. That's all.

He slumped down at his desk and tried not to let the insistent chatter of who slept with who – _whom_,Namjoon corrected himself – and who passed out where distract him from reading. He didn't really care about Jungkook's party but every single other person he saw was talking about it and it made him feel a little bit left out.

He felt the same about Jeon Jungkook. He didn't really care about him but everyone else seemed to admire him a great deal. An incredible sportsman, Namjoon would give him that. He wasn't too bad at other subjects either. And he looked absolutely celestial, as if he was handmade from stardust. Other than that, though, Namjoon didn't see anything outstandingly exceptional about him. God knows that Jungkook ignored Namjoon's existence equally as much.

So when Jungkook walked through the door, Namjoon didn't bother looking up at the cheers of congratulations for his party. He just got on with his work and let the rest of the world revolve around Jungkook without him.

The more Namjoon thought about it (and he didn't know why he was thinking about it), Jungkook was incredibly annoying. The only connection he ever had with him was that he sat in front of Namjoon in class. That would be fine if Jungkook didn't have an obsession with cracking his spine and stretching his arms behind him. he far too often distracted Namjoon by drumming on a desk that didn't even belong to him. He'd sometimes even take Namjoon's things out of his pencil case just to fiddle with. Namjoon never said anything; he was too awkward for that.

The teacher walked in the room, scattering students to their desks; scattering Jungkook to his seat right in front of Namjoon as usual.

"I hope everyone remembered the test today," the teacher warned casually, causing silent panic as everyone except Namjoon, including Jungkook, frantically flicked through their books, trying to speedily absorb everything they were ever taught about forces. Namjoon just quadruple-checked that he had in fact revised every topic and sat back.

The teacher told everyone to put their materials away and started handing out the papers. She handed one to Namjoon and he wrote his name on the top. As he did, a hand snuck onto his desk and felt around for something. Namjoon just rolled his eyes and watched Jungkook take a pen back to his own desk. Probably forgot his own pencil case.

The test started and Namjoon worked quickly. The best part of any test was the twenty minutes or so he had remaining at the end after finishing everything first. After half an hour, Namjoon was close to finishing. One more question to go and he could relax for the rest of class. He wrote the answer, checked through his paper and sat back with almost half the time remaining. His pride a little greedy, he looked around to see everyone, including Jungkook, still working with their heads down.

Namjoon stared at the back of Jungkook's head. Not an unusual occurrence; he was right in front of him. He was startled when Jungkook moved. Like normal, he slid his hand onto Namjoon's desk without looking round and tapped it a few times. His arm retreated but he left something behind. Namjoon stared curiously at the folded scrap of paper before opening it, making sure no one else was watching.

He found that it was a note. Why the hell was Jeon Jungkook passing _him_ notes? During a test, as well. He could be asking for an answer, but even that seemed unlikely. It said, in scrawled writing,

**I'm bored. You finished yet?**

Namjoon was confused. He didn't know if he should pass it on to anyone or if it was really meant for him. He looked at Jungkook again to see that he was still holding his hands behind his back, presumably waiting for a response. Namjoon had no idea why Jungkook was talking to him, if he even was at all, but it seemed rude to just ignore him. So he scribbled back a simple,

**Yeah.**

He hoped that was enough. For what, he didn't know. He just pressed the paper back into Jungkook's hand. His fingers curled around it and brought it back in front of him to read it. Namjoon could tell that he was writing a response and he was still so confused. Jungkook passed it back.

**Cool. Question 18 is definitely 2600, right?**

Namjoon rolled his eyes and flicked through his paper again, trying to find question 18. That was strange. There was no question 18. He was about to write back to Jungkook and tell him to stop playing games, there's no need to panic people, etc. Then he flipped the paper over. There was a question on the back. Namjoon hadn't seen it. It was worth five marks. God, it was lucky he had time left. And that Jungkook told him.

He quickly calculated the question and frowned. He got 15.3something. Skimming back through his answer, he noticed a fault in his equation and altered it. This time, he did get 2600. He passed the note to Jungkook, having written a simple,

**Yes.**

He heard Jungkook laugh quietly. Dick. He wrote something and subtly slid it back again.

**You're welcome. Always check for secret questions.**

Namjoon rolled his eyes at the back of Jungkook's head. He didn't really want to admit that Jungkook had actually helped him on a test. Brains should always beat brawn. Nerds should always beat the jocks – well, in academia at least.

**Thanks.**

He meant it sarcastically, but he didn't think it quite came across in his writing. That only occurred to him after he gave Jungkook the note.

**You weren't at my party, were you?**

Jungkook asked, the piece of paper significantly cramped. Quietly, Namjoon fished for paper in his pocket and wrote,

**I hate parties. Not my place.**

He gave it to Jungkook. More students had finished the test by now and it was becoming riskier to continue the exchange. Regardless, Jungkook scrawled,

**I can show you your place if you want me to**

Namjoon was confused. Again. It sounded minorly flirty, but Namjoon could easily be reading Jungkook's tone wrong. Curious and slightly apprehensive, he asked,

**And where's that?**

The answer was fast as if Jungkook had been waiting for it.

**Wherever you choose it to be**

Namjoon was surprised. Not the answer he thought typical playboy jock Jeon Jungkook would go for.

**Not what I was expecting from you but I guess that was nice**

He didn't want to sound too rude but, from the way Jungkook chuckled, he guessed that his note was interpreted correctly.

**What were you expecting me to say? "Under me"?**

Namjoon was embarrassed by how easily Jungkook figured him out but it was true.

**Yeah kinda**

He replied. Jungkook took a minute after writing as if he was deliberating whether to pass it or not. His answer came eventually.

**If that's where you want to be, you know I can make that happen**

Namjoon knew that could happen. He had no doubt in his mind that Jungkook could get him exactly there. However, maybe not now. Jungkook could have his pick of any human in this school; there was no reason for Namjoon to give in. Instead of replying, he raised his hand until the teacher noticed him.

"Miss, can I go to the bathroom please?" he asked. She nodded and Namjoon made his way out of the bathroom, not looking at Jungkook at all. He didn't want to lead him on.

He got to the bathroom and paced. Because he didn't really want to interact with Jungkook at all. No, he did not. Did he? No. Or did he? He said he didn't. And he thought he didn't. But he had been thinking about Jungkook non-stop for basically the whole day. As soon as he walked in the door up until now, Jungkook had been on his mind. Namjoon was beginning to think that he wasn't leaving.

Trying to figure out a way to breathe and not think about Jungkook, Namjoon just washed his hands until he felt cleaner. He looked into the mirror and very nearly had a heart attack.

Jungkook was leaning against the back wall and smirking at him in the mirror. Namjoon tried not to let his agitation show, he rolled his eyes and didn't say a word, walking towards the door. Before he could get there, Jungkook called,

"Whoa, what was that for?" Namjoon turned around to see a confused and maybe even concerned looking Jungkook staring back at him. Namjoon sighed.

"Look, if you're here to get me 'under you,' I'm not interested," he retorted. Jungkook held up his hands in surrender.

"Hey, you said it, not me," he defended. "That's not what I was here for, anyway." Namjoon was confused. He had assumed that someone like Jungkook had 'getting off with someone in a school bathroom' on their agenda all the time. Apparently not.

"What are you here for then?" Namjoon asked, realising how stupid the question sounded as soon as it left his mouth. Jungkook smirked.

"It's a school bathroom. Am I not allowed to be here?" he teased and Namjoon was stuck between retaliating and blushing. Unable to actually think of a response (at least, not one that wouldn't make Jungkook laugh at him), he asked,

"Well, why were you looking at me then?" Jungkook shrugged.

"You looked stressed," he answered succinctly. There was a pause while Namjoon processed the fact that maybe Jungkook didn't have an ulterior motive. "I'm sorry if I made you cheat, by the way. I just didn't want you to hate yourself over missing a question," he continued and Namjoon blinked.

"No, it's okay." He couldn't think of a single thing to say. Jungkook was actually being nice. Namjoon hadn't considered him to be like that before. He didn't even think that Jungkook knew his name, let alone cared about him. That was odd. "You're… not what I expected," he stated. Jungkook shrugged.

"I'm not what a lot of people expect." Very true, Namjoon thought. He expected Jungkook to be a slightly dumb, entitled, cool, confident jock. But he wasn't. He was clever and bright, kind and warm. He was definitely still confident. His demeanour was very impressively held, even in a situation like this when Namjoon was hopelessly anxious for no reason at all. "If you don't mind me asking," Jungkook began, "where do you think your place is?" he asked and Namjoon barely had to think.

"Textbooks. Knowledge, words. I'm a nerd. If this were a trashy romance story, I'd be the lanky kid with glasses who's only there to balance out the jocks," he answers. He'd accepted that a while ago and was now surprisingly okay with it, despite how desperately sad it sounded when he said it aloud. Jungkook frowned.

"Depends if you're the main character or not," he said and Namjoon hadn't considered that. He'd always assumed he was the side plot in some bad manga.

"I'm not," he answered and Jungkook raised an eyebrow. "Stuff happens to main characters."

"I know. If the main character is a nerd, they get with one of the jocks or something." Namjoon didn't know what Jungkook was implying by that but he had a feeling it was about more than predictable plots.

"And the secondary characters get bullied for being smart," he pointed out. Namjoon wasn't bullied exactly; just the odd spiteful comment and he was shoved into lockers occasionally. Nothing too bad compared to a lot of book characters. Jungkook stood up and walked towards the door.

"Until they're heroically saved by the main character and falls for them anyway," he finished and walked out. Namjoon was flustered on so many levels but followed Jungkook out. He went back into class and sat down for about five minutes until the bell rang for lunch.

Namjoon walked down the hall and was suddenly pushed into a locker, shocking him and making him drop his books. He looked to see who pushed him and saw about 5 people in his class surrounding him.

"Now," growled one of them. "Listen up, you little fucker. I wrote your name on my paper. You're gonna go back in there, ask for your paper back and change your name into mine. Got it?" Namjoon most certainly did not get it.

"W-what?" he stuttered. The crowd moved in closer.

"You heard. Switch the names. No one cares if you fail. I want to get good marks, you're already a nerd. No one gets hurt as long as you do what I say." This was very threatening and Namjoon didn't know if he could move. This was cheating. This was bad.

"Jaeseok, fuck off. You wanted good on this test, you should have studied. Leave him alone," came Jungkook's voice. Everyone looked at him.

"Why the fuck do you care?" Jaeseok bit and Jungkook shrugged.

"I won't repeat myself again. Let him go," he ordered harshly and Namjoon was holding his breath. No one moved and Jungkook rolled his eyes. He pushed through the crowd, grabbed Namjoon's wrist and pulled him away. Namjoon was too shocked to protest. Jungkook just took him outside to the side of the school. Finally, Namjoon gathered the ability to speak.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked and Jungkook frowned.

"Really? No 'thank you'? No 'I appreciate it'? Wow, okay then," he shrugged and Namjoon sighed.

"Thank you, I appreciate it. But what the hell are you doing? They're going to find us and beat both of us up," he pointed out. Jungkook just laughed.

"You think they can take me on? You underestimate me," he said and Namjoon figured that Jungkook's attitude was enough to keep bullies away anyway.

"Why…why _did_ you do that?" he asked, Jaeseok's point of 'why do you care?' ringing in his ears. Jungkook shrugged.

"I told you. The nerd either gets with the jock or gets bullied and then saved by the jock. Either way, you get with the jock. It was fate," he reasoned and Namjoon froze.

"Well… who said I wanted to date the jock?" he asked and Jungkook smiled.

"Are you saying you wouldn't date me?" he asked.

"N-no, of course not," Namjoon started but Jungkook interrupted him by saying,

"There, you said you wanted to date me."

"Saying that I don't not want to date you isn't saying I want to date you." It was silent while both of them tried to process that double negative.

"Yes, it is," Jungkook decided and Namjoon sighed.

"Okay, fine. Say the nerd did want to date the jock. What would happen then?" he asked and Jungkook hummed.

"The jock would try and get the nerd's attention in little ways at first, eventually making sure they paid attention to him. Then, after heroically saving them from the bullies, he'd take them around the side of the school and get them to confess in a really long winded way that he gets sick of after a while so he decides to stop talking and just kiss them instead."

Namjoon barely had time to stutter a "wha-" before Jungkook's lips were on his. It was an effective way of rendering someone utterly speechless. Even when Jungkook pulled back, Namjoon couldn't say a single word. His lips tingled strangely and he blinked. He just about registered Jungkook's smirk.

"Are you good?" Jungkook asked after a while of silence. Namjoon forced himself to concentrate and nodded.

"Yeah, I… yeah," was his slightly incoherent answer. Jungkook laughed. He had a pretty laugh.

"First?" he asked. Namjoon nodded. Jungkook leaned in closer and whispered. "Don't worry. Me too." Namjoon frowned.

"For real?" he questioned, disbelieving. Jungkook shrugged.

"Yeah. I'll admit, the 'nerd/jock' dynamics aren't perfect. But, hey, since we're both bad at this, wanna practise?" he suggested and Namjoon couldn't think of anything he wanted more in the world.


	35. Chapter 35 - Taekook

**I'm not dead I swear I'm just inconsistent and shy ~ I love you all a lot by the way! seeing views and reviews light up my life ^-^**

"Run away with me."

"W-what did you say?" Jungkook asked, taking a step back. Taehyung just smirked, annoyingly attractive in the darkness of the younger's room.

"Run away with me. There's a train that leaves in an hour for Jeju. If you're quick, you can pack and come with me. We can start everything again, spend our lives together. We wouldn't have to worry about people on the other side of the world dissing our hair. We wouldn't have to worry about tripping up on stage. We'd just have each other," Taehyung spoke slowly, convincingly. There was a glint in his eyes that made Jungkook worried.

"You're just going to go? By yourself?" Jungkook didn't want to believe what Taehyung was saying. The older walked forward and connected their hands.

"I don't have to be by myself, tokki," he whispered the pet name in a deep voice that made Jungkook want to melt. After all this time, and Taehyung suddenly came out with this in the middle of the night. Jungkook wanted more time, but that train left in an hour.

"You're sure?" Jungkook gulped and Taehyung nodded.

"Come with me." This was a big decision. But it was one that Jungkook was prepared to make. Slowly, but sure of himself, he nodded.

"Okay. I'll come with you," he agreed quietly and looked up at Taehyung. Taehyung, however, frowned and took a step back,

"W-wait, what? You'd actually just run away, just like that?" His words send a pang of guilt through Jungkook's heart but he nodded anyway.

"I-I would, Tae. It's with you. I'd go anywhere with you… I l- "

"Literally, don't finish that sentence, Kook," Taehyung interrupted him, not bothering to keep his voice down. Jungkook was confused at this and that feeling only grew as his bedroom door opened and Seokjin's head poked through,

"Wait a second, he said yes? JK, what the hell?!" he asked and Jungkook couldn't answer before Seokjin walked in, followed by the others and there were suddenly far too many people in his room.

"Do you actually want to run away, Jungkook?" Namjoon asked, gently but accusatory.

"You'd say yes, given the chance?" Jimin reiterated, folding his arms.

"Tell us the truth," Hoseok demanded. Jungkook couldn't process this. Taehyung didn't want to run away with him. They weren't leaving together. It wouldn't be just them together like he had promised. They had lied. Taehyung had lied. And that was all a little bit too much for 1 am. They were all staring at him, expecting an answer, and Jungkook didn't have anything to say. Well, he did, but he couldn't say it. He didn't have the courage or, currently, the voice.

He felt tears build up in his eyes. He just looked between his brothers who all looked at him like he was on trial and Jungkook didn't like it. He wanted it to end. The tears fell and he let out a shaky breath, stepping back from them. When he cried, he could usually rely on his hyungs to make him feel better. But after he just agreed to abandon them in the space of five seconds, he didn't blame them for not wanting him.

He couldn't see properly, thanks to the water spilling out of his eyes and couldn't move away any more in fear of tripping. He tried to at least say he was sorry, but his voice cracked on the first syllable and he didn't want to try further. He blinked, letting more streaks form down his face. He forced himself to look at their faces again and saw that they were sympathetic and worried. Jimin had put his arms down.

"Kookie, don't cry…"

"It's okay, you aren't in trouble."

"We're very sorry, we didn't mean it."

"Come on, come here," they were saying and Jungkook didn't have a choice. He had nowhere else and no one else who could make him feel as loved and as forgiven. He walked forward again and felt them all surround him, locking him in. He couldn't see, but he knew where everyone was by the sound of their breathing or by the way they stroked his arm.

"I'm sorry…sorry," he sobbed quietly. Next to his ear, where he knew Taehyung was, he heard him whisper,

"It's okay." They stayed like this for a while until Namjoon probably signalled something. He was clever like that. Four of them said goodnight, leaving only Taehyung and Namjoon in the room with Jungkook. They all sat on his bed and talked.

"Okay, this wasn't how we were expecting this to end," Namjoon sighed and began to explain, "Basically, Taehyung said he could cry convincingly on cue but we all disagreed. He said if someone didn't know he was fake-crying, he could convince them. You were the only one not there, so we came up with a scenario and sent Taehyung in. The idea was, he would ask you to run away and when you refused him, he would cry. But you said yes. Which confused all of us. We were definitely not expecting it."

"Are you okay, Jungkook-ah?" Taehyung asked softly and Jungkook nodded. It had all been a prank. Great. And now, Jungkook would have to tell them the truth. At least it wasn't all of them. "Would you really have come with me?" Jungkook was trapped. He swallowed and answered,

"Yes." Taehyung and Namjoon exchanged a look.

"Do you want to run away?" Namjoon questioned.

"No." Taehyung and Namjoon exchanged another, more confused look.

"Do…do you want to run away with me?" he asked and Jungkook supposed that this was the end.

"Yes." It was silent after that for far too long. It was so uncomfortable and so awkward that Jungkook didn't even want to cry; he just wanted to turn back time and say no to Taehyung. After a few years, he felt Namjoon move from beside him.

"I'm gonna leave you to talk this out yourselves. If I hear shouting or you tell me you've sorted it, I'll come back in. Kay?" he asked but left anyway. He shut the door behind him and it was just Taehyung and Jungkook. The tension was suffocating. Finally, Jungkook gathered up the courage to say,

"Say literally anything, I can't breathe." Luckily, Taehyung seemed to realise the gravity of the situation and didn't laugh or make a joke. Instead, he asked a question. Or tried to.

"So, how long have you- "

"Years, Tae. Years," Jungkook instantly responded. "I know it sounds awful, but I've been dreaming of you asking me to run away since I was seventeen." Finally confessing felt stranger than Jungkook was expecting. He had honestly never wanted him to find out, but he had also promised himself that, should anyone ask, he would tell the truth. And he had done. And could not deal with it.

"I- seventeen?! That's five years, Jungkook," Taehyung stated the obvious and Jungkook attempted to see it from his point of view. It would be like if Hoseok confessed to him. Weird as fuck.

"I did say 'years,'" Jungkook replied. He didn't look at Taehyung but heard him take a shallow breath.

"I'm sorry, Jungkook. That must've…totally fucked with your head. I'm so sorry if I hurt you." His deep voice easily cut through the tense air between them and, as affected as Jungkook was, he tried not to flinch.

"Don't be," he shrugged. "It wasn't your…fault." As the words left his mouth, something clicked inside Jungkook's head. Something that made him doubt whether Taehyung was telling the truth. He laughed cynically and stood up, trying to wrap his head around the question his hateful mind had formed. Taehyung stood up with him, his eyes so fucking innocent.

"What? What is it?" Jungkook didn't want to cry again. So he channelled his loss into spite.

"The aim of the game was to get me to reject you, yeah?" he asked. Taehyung nodded slowly, unsure of himself. "I was supposed to say no and make you cry?" Taehyung nodded again. "Then why were you so goddamn convincing? Why did you make it so believable?" Taehyung stuttered and took a step back.

"I, um- "

"Your job was to make me disagree with you and you didn't even try. You made me believe that you wanted, truly wanted me to go with you. I mean, for fuck's sake, Tae, you called me 'tokki'. It wasn't like I was going to say no anyway, but you made it impossible to refuse. You know I- " Suddenly Taehyung took a step forward and placed his hand over Jungkook's mouth. He looked into his eyes, serious and piercing and said,

"You want to yell at me, do it quietly. Unless you want Leader-Mon to come in here and force us to act like civil human beings." Jungkook hadn't noticed how loud he had gotten until he heard Taehyung's soft voice. Although, it was getting harder and harder to focus on anything when they were pressed up against each other. All Jungkook could do was nod and try not to salivate at the sight of his long-term crush being assertive.

Far too many emotions were swirling through Jungkook's mind at once and Taehyung invaded every corner of his consciousness like a virus. He couldn't tell who he was or how long it had been. As soon as Taehyung let go of him, Jungkook shoved him roughly backwards and stormed out of the room, needing literally any time to think things through. Before Taehyung had followed him, he had run through the hall and down to Taehyung's room, locking himself in.

No longer than two seconds later, frantic knocking sounded at the door. It was probably Namjoon being concerned for his wellbeing. He could hear muffled voices through the door that sounded like Namjoon and Taehyung. Jungkook curled up next to Taehyung's bed and shut his eyes, trying to calm himself down. Until he heard Taehyung yell,

"I don't fucking care! I just want him to be okay!" There was hardly any time for Jungkook's heart to flutter at this before there were a few softer knocks at the door. This time, Taehyung's voice was soft. "Jungkookie, please open the door. I'm so, so sorry. Please come out?" He sounded emotional and truly sorry. Even so, Jungkook didn't want to forgive him.

He didn't reply, keeping his mouth firmly shut. Taehyung asked him a few times before Namjoon told him to just stop. With a heartbroken tone, Jungkook heard him reply,

"But he didn't say anything…" Namjoon must have ushered him away after that because those were the last voices Jungkook heard that night. He was beginning to regret hiding out in Taehyung's room because that made everything impossible. He was surrounded with reminders of how he had practically destroyed their friendship and how Taehyung had tricked him into it. Eventually, using one of Taehyung's old hoodies as a pillow, he fell asleep on the floor.

He woke up to the sound of more voices again. This time, there were more of them. Jungkook was too tired to open his eyes, but from where he was still lying, he could make out the following conversation:

Jimin: _"He just locked himself in there? Why?"_

Taehyung: _"I fucked up, okay? I can't stand him mad at me…"_

Hoseok: _"Do you reckon he's awake? It's eight in the morning."_

Taehyung: _"His sleep schedule's a little messed up because of all the games he's been playing lately. He doesn't really sleep much and wakes up several times a night anyway. But if it's that late, he should be just about up. I'd give it a few minutes, though."_

There was silence.

Taehyung: _"What? What's that look for?"_

Yoongi: _*sigh* "Nothing. Let's eat breakfast."_

Jungkook raised his head, confused at how and why Taehyung knew such detailed information about his sleep schedule. However, upon remembering why he was locked in Taehyung's bedroom, he sighed and lay back. His dreams had once again been laced with Taehyung being ethereal and god-like, a scene he was still not used to seeing. He didn't know if it was being surrounded by his crush's scent and stuff that made the dreams seem so much more vivid.

He wasn't hungry and didn't feel like facing Taehyung either. He stayed on the floor until he heard a knock which he didn't respond to.

"Jungkook? Are you awake?" Taehyung asked softly and Jungkook didn't answer that either. "If you are, breakfast's on the table. I'm sorry again for last night." Footsteps receded and Jungkook sat up quickly and punched his makeshift pillow in frustration. If he was more confident, he would go out and talk everything through. But if he went out there now, he didn't know if he would punch Taehyung or kiss him. So he stayed.

He got up and walked around a bit to stretch. A lot of the day passed without him noticing much. The others had had definitely heard him walking around and they came to check on him a few times. He didn't reply to any of them. It wasn't their faults, but they all had a part in that little life-ruining game. He was hungry by dinner time but stuck it out. it must have been around 11 pm when another knock sounded.

"Please tell me you're coming out soon?" Taehyung asked brokenly. "You haven't eaten in a really long time and I'm so worried about you." _Good,_ Jungkook thought. "I think there's some food in the second drawer down in my dresser if you want it. Also, the others are gonna turn the thermostat down by like ten degrees to flush you out. They told me not to tell you. You can use any of my stuff to keep you warm. I hope you come out soon. I miss you. I'm so sorry. We can talk when you come out."

There was silence as Taehyung presumably left. Jungkook felt sorry for him, really. He was in the midst of wondering where Taehyung was sleeping when he shivered suddenly. The temperature was dropping and Jungkook was in a t-shirt and shorts. He looked at Taehyung's hoodie that still lay on the floor and picked it up with a sigh. he really had no choice.

The hoodie was oversized and black and it smelled like Taehyung. If Jungkook wasn't so conflicted about him, he would have admitted it was perfect. It provided instant warmth and it was so big that Jungkook could curl his knees under it, too. He was getting hungrier and hungrier from the lack of food and crawled over to the bedside drawers. He found a pack of Haribos just sitting there and smiled subconsciously.

He sat on the floor and huddled away from the cold. Reaching for his phone to use as a distraction, he remembered that it wasn't his hoodie. He started eating Taehyung's sweets so he wouldn't pass out. This didn't work that well and as soon as he finished the packet, he lay on his side and went to sleep.

When he woke up, he pushed himself off the freezing cold floor and forced himself to stand up. Still swathed in the hoodie, his body was relatively warm. He looked at Taehyung's clock and saw that it was nearly 4 am. He stared at the door. If he went out now, no one would be awake. He could get a change of clothes, turn up the thermostat, get food and water and be back before anyone saw him. It could work.

Jungkook stepped carefully over to the door and turned the lock as quietly as he could. He took a deep breath and opened it. To see Taehyung sat cross-legged next to the couch blinking at the floor. Before Jungkook could retreat into the room, Taehyung locked his eyes with Jungkook's and stood up.

"J-Jungkook?" he stuttered quietly. It took Jungkook a minute to figure out why he stuttered.

"It's freezing. You're wearing a t-shirt," he stated simply. Before Taehyung could reply, Jungkook was already pulling the hoodie over his head. He shivered slightly at the cold air on his skin but handed it to Taehyung anyway. Taehyung didn't take it. Jungkook rolled his eyes. "Hyung, it's _yours_. Take it." He thrust the hoodie into Taehyung's chest and turned swiftly on his heels to go back to the room.

"W-wait!" Taehyung called after him. Jungkook stopped but didn't turn around. "You haven't eaten in a day and a half." Jungkook rolled his eyes.

"I noticed."

"B-but you're really pale…"

"Thanks, hyung."

"Jungkook, eat something." Taehyung's tone switched to something a little more assertive and Jungkook sighed. He just didn't want to speak to him. He walked to the kitchen and took an apple, waving it so Taehyung could see.

"Happy?" he asked sarcastically, not caring about the answer. Taehyung huffed sadly,

"No."

"That's nice. Goodnight," Jungkook answered quickly and turned to leave again. He paused outside Taehyung's room. _What was he doing?_ He walked to his own room instead.

"Jungkook, please…" Taehyung begged although Jungkook wasn't sure what for. He spun around to face Taehyung once more.

"What?" The word came out spitefully before he saw that Taehyung was crying, tears streaking his unusually pale face. Jungkook's heart immediately softened. As much as he didn't want Taehyung to even notice him at this point, he still couldn't stand to see him cry; it felt like he had been punched to know that he had made this happen.

"Don't go… please. I-I don't want you to go again. Today was so hard and I just couldn't… couldn't do it. I can't live without you. Just… please?" Taehyung was keeping himself together well, considering the situation. As much as Jungkook wanted to run and hug him and kiss his pretty nose, he forced himself to stay strong. He took a deep breath and asked coldly,

"What do you want me to do about it?" An intense gaze burned into Taehyung's eyes, but that didn't stop the elder from smiling slightly, the smile turning into a sad laugh.

"Run away with me. For real this time." Jungkook was so not very far away from slamming the door.

"You have thirty seconds to explain yourself or I'm not coming out next time." Taehyung immediately launched into a speech as if he was expecting it.

"Today was so hard. Harder than it should have been and I don't think that was entirely because I knew you were mad at me. I think it was because you weren't there. You didn't laugh or randomly start a fight and it just wasn't the same and I couldn't handle it. I've had over 24 hours to think about it and I think I know why I was so convincing: I believed it. It may have started off as a dare, but I slowly convinced myself that I was telling the truth. And I was. This has all made me realise that I wouldn't run away by myself; I like it here. But if it was with you, just for a while, I'd go. When I was saying all that stuff, I wanted so badly for it to be true that I got carried away. I want to run away with you. I want you. To myself. Forever. I love you."

It was longer than thirty seconds, but Jungkook didn't care. He just wanted Taehyung to be telling the truth more than anything. He slowly and shyly walked forward towards the older. Every step he took intoxicated him more and when he was within two feet or so, he melted into Taehyung's arms and hugged him so tightly that he wasn't sure either of them could breathe. He didn't care, though. Taehyung was actually here.

"You really want to run away?" Jungkook asked through tears. Taehyung whispered in his ear,

"Name the time and place and I'll take you anywhere." Damn, this kid was smooth. Jungkook hummed back,

"Jeju seems a bit far. How about your room? It is freezing after all…" Taehyung pulled back, grinning although crying. He laced their fingers together and looked deep into Jungkook's eyes.

"Sounds perfect."

**okay now watch me disappear for another month or something :/**


	36. Chapter 36 - Yoonjin Round 2

(Coffee)

Yoongi had thought that working in a coffee shop would be like Friends. Cool, interesting people coming in with dramatic stories, funny and cute family moments, pretty guys and girls all over the place. He would admit that the show was most of the reason he wanted a job as a barista in the first place.

But, boy, did he misjudge that. It was _nothing_ like Friends. Most of his day was spent trying to argue with rude and unreasonable customers about the most trivial little things. His hours were horribly long and the pay was far less than he expected. All of his clothes smelt like coffee and, while that was quite nice at first, it got sickening after a few months. All the other baristas were sultry and bad-tempered, just like most of the customers. Yoongi didn't understand it.

One sunny weekday afternoon, Yoongi was supposed to be working. He was meant to be tidying the storage cupboard but it was all pretty much clean so there wasn't really much to do. He just spaced out, letting his mind wander to nowhere in particular. Someone asked him a question at some point and he answered on autopilot. They didn't get many customers on nice days; on rainy days, people thought it was aesthetic to sit and do work in a café so business ramped up to an almost unbearable level. He relished this time where he wasn't doing anything.

Eventually, someone came back and told him to go up to the front counter again. Yoongi doubted there was anyone there, either, but he went anyway. A change of scenery would be nice at least. He trudged back up to the counter and got one of the nicest changes in scenery he had ever experienced.

One thing that was similar to Friends was the mics at the side of the room. Anyone could go and play something for the customers if they asked for permission, which was always given. Very occasionally, people used it. The talent ranged and Yoongi didn't like to comment on aspiring musicians; however, a lot of the customers did and that's why no one liked to play.

But today, someone was feeling brave. He was tall with sandy brown hair and a cute oversized sweater that bunched up at the wrists. He had set his guitar down as he fiddled with the mics. There were only about five other people in the shop but he didn't seem to mind. Yoongi watched him curiously. It wasn't often that people played anymore and he was interested to see what they'd do.

He didn't introduce himself. He didn't say anything. He just started to play. It was a quiet and calm melody that floated dreamily through the café. It made everything seem prettier, more like everything was sketched out in a comic book than actually there. The sunlight drizzled through the large window and it felt warmer as Yoongi listened to the guitar. The whole place felt just a little bit less boring and more… picturesque.

Yoongi had no idea how long he was there for but he didn't mind it at all. He could watch that man play forever. He had such focus on the instrument and what he was playing. Yoongi wondered if he was just as lost in the sound as he assumed everyone else was.

At some point, Yoongi's shift ended and he was told to go home. The guitar-player hadn't left yet and he was reluctant to leave before saying goodbye but he didn't have much of a choice. He didn't listen to music on the way home, wanting to keep the tune in his head. He hummed it incessantly until he got home. He flopped down on the couch and stared at the ceiling.

"Hyung, you good?" asked his roommate, Hoseok. Yoongi just rolled over.

"Learn how to play the guitar, please," he said into a pillow. Hoseok laughed at him. Yoongi pouted, not that Hoseok could see. "Do it or I'll kill you," he mumbled. He looked up to see Hoseok still smiling.

"What happened, hyung?" he asked and Yoongi sighed, rolling onto his back again.

"Cute guy, amazing guitar. I couldn't concentrate on anything when he was playing. It was just so nice," he remembered. He always had strong reactions to music but this was a lot, even for him. He was just drifting, carried by that guitar.

"Okay, when you're done drooling over a guitar, I made dinner," Hoseok grinned. Yoongi just gave him a thumbs up and continued to lie on the couch.

The next day as he walked into work, he was disappointed to see lots more people in the shop. It was cloudier and colder today so more people were taking shelter. Maybe the crowd would scare off the guitar guy. Yoongi frowned even at the thought.

He didn't come that day. Or the next day. In fact, it was a few weeks before Yoongi saw him again. He had gotten over it; or at least, he thought he had. Then he saw a baggy sweater over broad shoulders and his heart leapt. It was him. And Yoongi's shift had another two hours left. Again, there was no introduction, just the gentle beginning of a familiar melody. Yoongi melted all over again.

It was still a little bit busy in the café so he had to take orders and serve drinks and clear tables, all the while being uncharacteristically quiet to hear the guitar better. One of his co-workers even noticed and asked if he was okay. Yoongi just responded with a nod and a dizzy smile.

After a while, the guitar guy stopped playing. There was light applause and he bowed politely. He set his guitar down, ruffled his hair and walked up to the counter. Yoongi immediately started paying attention and smiled.

"Hi, can I get a caramel macchiato, please?" he asked, a lot nicer than a lot of customers usually did.

"Of course. What's your name?" Yoongi asked, trying to conceal his eagerness.

"Seokjin." Yoongi set right to work making the drink and his brain whirred. _Do I talk to him? Do I stay quiet? Do I make small talk? Do I compliment his playing? Do I introduce myself? Am I blushing? Don't spill the drink, you idiot._ While his internal monologue was battling with itself, his mouth got fed up with him and said,

"I really liked your playing, by the way." Yoongi instantly regretted saying that and was certain he was blushing. But Seokjin just smiled.

"Thanks. Not the most receptive audience here, but it's okay," he replied and Yoongi was about to combust.

"Not many people are brave enough. But that just makes it even more special when someone like you plays well." Yoongi wasn't even thinking about what he was saying anymore but he was conscious that he had finished making the drink and was stalling. He handed it over and lingered. "Will you be back?" he asked. Seokjin took the cup and shrugged.

"Sure, if you want me to," he smiled and Yoongi blushed.

"That'd be nice," he mumbled as Seokjin walked off to collect his stuff. Yoongi stared until someone tapped him on the shoulder to tell him he was off duty. He managed to pull himself together and go back to organise the cupboards. An hour passed and his shift ended. Again, Yoongi tried to keep the music in his mind.

He got back home and fell down onto the sofa again. Hoseok was sitting on the other chair and he sighed, wondering whether or not to ask. Regardless, Yoongi whined,

"The guitar guy's name is Seokjin. He's soooo cute." Hoseok giggled.

"Hyung, have you got a crush?" he asked and Yoongi nodded into the cushion. "Awww. Have fun with that. Dinner's in the kitchen."

That night, Yoongi wanted to go to sleep. But the sound of the guitar kept pulling him back and opening his eyes. It would have been annoying if it wasn't so beautiful. After a while, he got up and walked over to his keyboard. He sat down and plugged in his headphones so he wouldn't wake up Hoseok. He kept replaying the notes until he could replicate the rhythm on the piano and then set to work. It took a while, but eventually, he had an accompaniment. He was too tired to remember why he was working out an accompaniment for this at 2 am but he had it written out by 3. Then, satisfied, he went to bed.

A week later, Seokjin walked into the café again. It was raining so the place was pretty packed and Yoongi had a lot to do; he still froze when he saw Seokjin begin to set up. He carried on serving people, flicking glances to Seokjin every two seconds or so. When he started to play that same beautiful tune, Yoongi's fingers danced across the counter, subconsciously playing the backing music he had composed. It made him happier.

When it finished, more people applauded and Yoongi saw Seokjin smile proudly. Instead of putting his guitar down and coming up to buy coffee like Yoongi was expecting, he began to play something else. It was different and just as pleasing as the other one but with one spectacular alteration. Seokjin began to sing.

Softly and timidly at first, but he still sounded like honey. Yoongi quickly took out his phone and started recording it. He didn't want to forget a single word. The song was sweet and sad and overflowing with emotions. Yoongi hadn't heard it before and wondered if Seokjin had written it himself. Because that was incredibly impressive and just maybe the most attractive thing Yoongi had ever heard. He leaned on the counter, captivated by the fleeting song. When it was over, he applauded like everyone else.

This time, Seokjin put his guitar down and started to walk over to the counter. Yoongi panicked internally and started making a caramel macchiato as quickly and carefully as he could. Seokjin reached the counter and said,

"Hi. Can I get a caramel macchiato?" Yoongi placed it in front of him almost instantly. Seokjin smiled,

"Wow, that was fast," he commented, taking the drink. Yoongi just looked up at him like a little child.

"I really like your song," he grinned quietly and Seokjin laughed.

"Really? I didn't think it was that good but the people in here seem nice today," he said, looking around. Yoongi was probably about to say something embarrassing but before he could, Seokjin smiled again, "Thanks," and walked away. Yoongi stared after him until one of his co workers tapped him on the shoulder.

"I've been calling you," she said. She followed Yoongi's gaze and giggled. "You have a crush on him, too, huh?" she asked and Yoongi choked.

"What? No!" he defied strongly but she clearly didn't believe him.

"It's okay. I like him too. He's so dreamy," she cooed, staring after the handsome guitarist. Yoongi was speechless.

"Im Yena, back to work!" their manager called.

"Yes, sir!" Yena squeaked and disappeared back into storage. Yoongi sighed. Yena was pretty and confident. If she wanted to ask Seokjin out, she could probably succeed. Yoongi wouldn't stand a chance. He smirked. But he could sure as hell try. He stepped out from behind the counter and walked across the café. About halfway there, he was already regretting it. Oh well.

"Um, hey," he said and Seokjin turned around. Yoongi swallowed and took a deep breath. "I, uh, really liked your playing so I, sort of, worked out a piano accompaniment for it. I don't know if you wanted to hear it or…" Yoongi mumbled the last part and he doubted Seokjin heard it. Nevertheless, the man smiled.

"Y-you wrote an accompaniment?" he asked and Yoongi nodded shyly. Seokjin laughed, "How?"

"I just listened to it and kept it in my head. I nearly have perfect pitch so I could work it out like that," Yoongi shrugged.

"Whoa, that's cool. I-I'd love to hear it, but I guess there's no piano here," he pouted, looking around.

"There's one at the café two blocks from here," Yoongi remembered. Seokjin beamed.

"Cool. Do you have time after work?" he asked and Yoongi was certain he was blushing. He nodded through the embarrassment and Seokjin took a sip of his drink. "When does your shift end?" Yoongi checked his watch and hummed,

"Right about now. Wait here, I'll be two minutes." Seokjin nodded and Yoongi ran back to the counter and whipped his apron off. His shift didn't actually end for another ten minutes but he ran into Yena on his way to the back. He stopped her. "Yena, cover for me, I've got a date," he asked hastily and she skipped out to the front willingly. Yoongi felt a little guilty but it was drowned in adrenaline and delight. He threw his apron onto a hook, slung his bag over his shoulder, fixed his hair and walked back out.

Seokjin was standing by the door, guitar slung over his shoulder, when Yoongi reappeared. He held the door open for Yoongi, who bowed awkwardly and shuffled through. He caught a glimpse of Yena on the way out and tried to look as apologetic as possible. She didn't look too mad, thankfully.

It was a short walk to the other café and it was only slightly awkward. Yoongi asked Seokjin where he learned to play and was shocked to hear that he had taught himself.

"But you're so good…" he mumbled and Seokjin laughed.

"What about you? Where did you learn the piano?" he asked and Yoongi shrugged, trying to think of a way to make it sound interesting.

"School. They said I was really good in lessons so my mom got me a private teacher when I was, like, eight? I got my diploma a few years ago," he explained.

"Whoa, so you're… really good," Seokjin summarised with a small chuckle. Yoongi felt his ears go red.

"Yeah, I guess so. Come on, let's go in," he said, realising that they were at the café already. The piano was small and not in brilliant condition. Yoongi played a dramatically broken chord and smiled at the fact that it was in tune, at least. It was tucked away in the corner of the place, out of use as a performance instrument. That made Yoongi a little sad, in a way. Seokjin unpacked his guitar and looked at Yoongi.

"Don't tell me you can play it without music," he laughed and Yoongi echoed him.

"I can. It's all I've been playing for the last week, so I think I've got it memorised. Hold on, there's a bit at the start…" He played the first few bars and then stopped. "And then that's where you come in," he told him. Seokjin nodded determinedly. Yoongi played the beginning again slightly quieter and this time, Seokjin started playing along. It was so pretty and Yoongi's hands almost faltered; he didn't, forcing himself to keep going. It sounded so gorgeous with the guitar and the piano flowing with each other and Yoongi quickly became lost in the music again. Nothing in the world existed except him and the piano, Seokjin and his guitar.

Eventually, the piece had to end and Yoongi finished with a flourish that he held on for a second longer than necessary. He was surprised to hear light applause and he turned around quickly to see that the few people on the tables near them had been listening as well. He looked up at Seokjin, who was beaming prettily. Yoongi grinned, really happy that it had gone well, for some reason.

"Not bad for a first practice," Seokjin commented, his pretty brown eyes glinting with pride.

"Wanna come back to mine for more practice?" Yoongi offered, his boldness surprising himself. Seokjin smiled.

"I'd like that."


	37. Chapter 37 - Jihope Round 2

**hi there! i'm currently in the middle of a little bit of a fight with someone telling me that I'm breaking the content guidelines so we shall see how that ends :/**

(Pied Piper)

If Hoseok's body rolled one more time, Jimin was going to scream. It wasn't possible to be that attractive, right? Jimin had never met anyone like that before and it was intoxicating. The way he danced, the subtleties of his movements were unbearably captivating. Hoseok had already driven him to the brink of sanity (or insanity) and Jimin wasn't certain he could handle it much longer.

It started when Jimin switched schools. He didn't like to brag, but his old school was simply not good enough for him. While eighteen consecutive 100 on tests were great for his self-esteem, he wasn't learning anything at all. So he moved. Worst decision of his life. Sure, he was still smart. But now he was surrounded by other smart people, which made him average. He had never been average before. He didn't like it.

His classmates were nice. Intellectuals, like him, and as friendly as Jimin could have wanted. He quickly made friends and settled as a mediocre student in a well-equipped school.

Then he found out about Jung Hoseok. He had been the smartest in the school and brought up the average scores of the entire grade significantly. But he wasn't often in school; Jimin only met him after a month or two. He discovered that Hoseok was a trainee for BigHit Entertainment, one of the biggest music companies in the country. He had been busy with auditions, schedules and practices but came back to school after a while. Much to the chagrin of Jimin. Or delight. He couldn't tell.

Hoseok was beautiful; he was talented and poised and physically perfect. He was in Jimin's class, too. The first day he walked in, Jimin couldn't take his eyes off him. He barely noticed when the teacher asked him a question. Panicked, Jimin answered,

"Um… root 2?" Everyone laughed and Hoseok snickered. The teacher helpfully reminded him that he was in a history class and continued with the lesson. Hoseok could answer each and every question with precision and Jimin couldn't help but let out small noises of admiration every time he got one right. Being smart was hot.

That evening, Jimin tried to shake off the memories of the fastest crush he had ever developed. Dance always helped with things like that. However, walking into a changing room and being faced with a shirtless Hoseok did _not_ help with things like that. Hoseok didn't take any notice of him, a fact that Jimin was insanely thankful for given that he had turned into a blushing mess. So he had to spend time with Hoseok for at least an extra hour every day for God knows how long. Reluctantly yet excitedly, Jimin walked into the practice room to enjoy an excruciating class.

As expected, Hoseok was an incredible dancer. He was a trainee, after all. Jimin couldn't tell if he was whipped or jealous but he settled for both. He tried hard not to cry at just how dazzling Hoseok was when he danced. He was smooth and fluid and Jimin found himself wondering at one point if he had bones and how to get rid of his own.

The following days were hell and heaven combined. He saw Hoseok every day at school, gazing longingly at him almost the entire time. After school, he danced _with him_ at practice and tried not to choke every time he sighed with disappointment. Sure, he looked good when he was smiling; but when he had that look of displeasure and disdain… Jimin tried not to go too red at the thoughts blurring his vision.

It was about two months in when Jimin noticed his grades dropping. He was confused at first and asked the teacher to go through the recent tests. There was a topic on there that he had no memories of learning. The teacher just looked at him in puzzlement.

"What did you think we've been doing the last two months?" Jimin didn't have an answer. He realised that, instead of paying attention in his classes, he'd just been staring at Hoseok, imagining what it would be like to hold a conversation with him, what it would be like to hold hands with him. He apologised and promised to do better. He tried his best to stay average rather than fail.

Dance practice was by no means a better experience. He walked in, confident he could sweat off the embarrassment of earlier. That didn't happen.

"Park Jimin, you missed the cue."

"Park Jimin, you're offbeat."

"Park Jimin, wrong formation."

"Park Jimin, please concentrate!"

He slumped down in the break, ashamed. He so badly wanted to tell everyone that it really wasn't his fault, that it had gotten to the point where Hoseok's hair was mussed and his skin was glowing but not yet shiny. It wasn't his fault he was off-point and it wasn't his fault he couldn't think. It wasn't his fault. It really wasn't.

"What isn't?" A low voice asked him. Jimin subtly wiped his eyes and looked up. He blinked, not able to believe that the figure was real. Hoseok was so tall and so well-built. Jimin forgot to answer until Hoseok kicked him lightly. "Hey! Are you okay?" Jimin snapped himself back to his senses.

"What? Oh, sorry, it-it's nothing…" He hadn't even been aware that he was speaking out loud but apparently Hoseok overheard him. He mentally punched himself. Hoseok smirked gorgeously,

"Get back to it. And, focus," he added, looking Jimin over in a way that made his heart stop completely and his face certainly flush bright pink. He stood up and joined the class again. And tried to focus. The fact that Hoseok spoke to him had two effects; Jimin was inclined to not fail him and do everything not to disappoint; also, that was the best thing that had ever happened to him in his life and he couldn't stop replaying it.

Jimin struggled through the rest of practice and felt insanely relieved when the teacher dismissed everyone. Jimin, ever the good boy, held the door open for everyone. Nearly. Hoseok remained behind in the middle of the room. After not being acknowledged for a few seconds, Jimin asked,

"Sunbae-nim? Are you coming?" Hoseok looked to Jimin and tilted his head slightly intimidatingly.

"A word, please?" he demanded and Jimin bowed his head, letting go of the door and stepping back inside the room. He was certain Hoseok would say how disappointed he was, how he wasn't good enough, how he needed to try more. Standing close to the door for comfort, he looked up to see Hoseok folding his arms, still in the middle of the room. He raised his eyebrows.

"Here," he ordered, gesturing in front of him. Jimin shuffled closer until he was right next to Hoseok. He was scared and embarrassed as hell but he tried not to panic too visibly. A finger lightly tapped his chin, forcing him to look up. His eyes met Hoseok's dazzling, intoxicating brown ones and Jimin just about didn't choke as he truly realised how close they were. He smirked and Jimin nearly screamed.

"I told you to focus. What did you focus on?" he asked calmly and Jimin stammered, his voice overtaking his mind by a mile, despite his thoughts running at lightning speed. Hoseok noticed. "Let me spell it out a little more: did you focus on dancing or me?" Jimin's gaze immediately shot to the floor but Hoseok pushed his head up again. "I asked you a question. Look at me and answer it." He didn't look angry or disgusted; his words were petrifying but his demeanour was oddly playful, amused almost.

"Y-y-you…" Jimin just about managed to say. He was being forced to confess to a god. He wanted to sink into the floor and never emerge. Hoseok stepped back and Jimin breathed.

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it? You know, you could always just tell me to dial it down a bit," he shrugged and Jimin blinked.

"W-what?" he asked and Hoseok laughed,

"I'd be stupid not to notice you staring at me every single chance you get. Even at school, your eyes are only on me but I don't blame you. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't trying to keep your attention, honestly." Jimin wanted to die a little bit more. Hoseok had noticed, easily, how infatuated Jimin was and teased him. gReAt.

"I'm sorry," Jimin mumbled and Hoseok stepped closer.

"Don't apologise. Right now, I want all of your attention on me. Not that it would ever be on anything else, of course." Before Jimin could even attempt to say anything else, Hoseok's lips were on his. That was an incredibly good thing on many different levels. Jimin didn't have to talk and he didn't have to do anything, not even think, except follow Hoseok's lead.

And, God, it was a strong lead. His hands held Jimin's waist closely and tightly, preventing Jimin from falling even if his legs were so very nearly giving up. Jimin just about managed to realise that maybe he should do something in return rather than just stand limp. His shaking hands found their way to Hoseok's toned, bare arms and his nails dug into the skin. This was unreal. It had to be some hallucination, a by-product of Jimin's overactive imagination. But Hoseok's mouth felt too real for this to be a dream. Hoseok pulled back a little.

"You want me to teach you that transition now?" he asked and it took a second for Jimin to register what he meant.

"Now?" he whined, not in the mood to dance anymore. Hoseok smirked.

"Sure, why not. I'll help you out. And if you do well, you get a reward from me, okay?" he offered. Jimin agreed. He didn't think he'd danced with so much enthusiasm in a very long time. And at the end of it all, Hoseok kept his promise and gave Jimin the best reward in the world.


End file.
